Reunions
by Chibi Duelist
Summary: SEQUEL TO NOT HIMSELF. Takes place after the last episode. It's been a year since Team 5D's split up and Yusei's living with Takeru, his former Yami. When they get a letter from their girlfriends, Aki and Aiko, in France, things begin to change. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Uh… h-hi… this is the sequel to my first long story, 'Not Himself,' and I have a feeling it's not going to be very long like the other one. I got inspiration from the last episode again. XD I hope you enjoy this story! My guess is that it'll end up being around 10 or fewer chapters, but I could be wrong. Anyway… let's get this going!

Takeru: Dude, you sound weird when you say that. It's just not you.

Me: Shut up before I kill you off.

Takeru: I'll be good.

Me: Thank you. Now, let the beginning well… begin! I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or the characters they made… if I did: Team 5D's would never have spilt up and gone their separate ways, leaving Yusei behind. I only own the Yami characters that I created!

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><p>It's been a year since Team 5D's split up, going their own ways and exploring the unknown world outside the closed walls of Neo Domino. Yusei was busy working at the Fortune Momentum Reactor site, writing down numbers and complicated equations that only he seemed to comprehend. The crab haired man's long hours working on the reactor had begun to take its toll. He was constantly tired, feeling like he never had the opportunity to get any rest back at his new apartment and his late shifts on his computers had caused his eyesight to go bad. He had to wear glasses whenever he was at work now, which he hated since they felt so alien on the bridge of his nose. He did feel accomplished, though. The blue eyed scientist was living up to his father's name as a famous researcher and developer. He liked to think that Hakase would be proud of him if he were alive.<p>

With clipboard in hand, pen in the other, he observed the rotation of light in the Reactor. He smirked, happy with how things were going so far. The future that the Three Emperors of Yliaster and Z-one had spoken of looked as if it had all just been a bad dream now with all the progress they had made in the past year. He looked down at his watch and saw that it was around midnight. His shift was over an hour ago, yet he was still working. Sighing, he took his lab coat off and left the Fortune Momentum, turning out the lights behind him.

The hallways were empty and vacant of any sound or person besides Yusei and the sound of his shoes hitting the tile floor. He turned to his office door, typed a code into a keypad right next to the door and went inside, flipping a switch to turn the lights on. Everything was right where he had left it. His briefcase sitting in his chair, both objects he hardly used at all and his jacket hanging on a coat rack in the corner. His desk sat in front of a big window and cabinets of hundreds of records and files were on either side of it. Yusei put his lab coat on the coat rack and replaced the long white coat with his black jacket, covering up a gray short-sleeve shirt. His black glasses came off his face and they were set on his desk for tomorrow's day at work. He couldn't even put it into words how much he hated those things.

He turned off the lights and walked out of his office, down the hall and to the stairs, not really wanting to take the elevator that night. When he got downstairs, his assistant, Miyuki, stood up from her desk and bowed to him, smiling. "Have a good night, Dr. Fudo," she announced. Yusei smirked and nodded in thanks as she sat back down in her chair.

Before he left, Yusei looked back at the black haired woman. "Go on home, Miyuki, you've done a lot today. You deserve to get some rest, and don't worry; I'll certainly put your extra hours on your paycheck this week," he said with a smile.

The woman beamed and replied, "Thank you, Mr. Fudo!" With that, Yusei left the building and headed for the parking garage where his D-wheel waited for him. He thought back to the lady that he had hired as his assistant. She was a very kind woman. Married, had two fine children and a wonderful life living in a good part of town. But there was one part of her life that Yusei really did long for; maybe he would say that he even envied her for it, something that he had never given up on, not even after a year of separation.

He wanted a family, to have kids and a wife. His co-workers always gave him the answer he didn't want to hear whenever the topic was brought up during breaks. They would tell him that he didn't seem like the kind to want such things. They say that he's so independent that kids and a wife would distract him, he'd never have time for them with his job and they would throw him off his game. The pro-duelist didn't want to believe that, he really didn't, but he knew that it was probably true. But he blamed all of that on his job as a professor. Even when his old friends were living in Domino, he rarely saw them because he was always preoccupied with is work on the reactor. Though, there wasn't anything he could do about that either. It wasn't like he could just quit and find a new job where he would actually have time for friends and having a family. This was his dream job, so he thought. Doing what he was really good at, other than dueling of course, what his father had done twenty-four years ago before him. It seemed right and it felt right, too, to be doing what his family had acquired as their professions as scientists.

The blue eyed man walked into the parking garage and found his bright red D-wheel. He smiled and found the Team 5D's sticker still left on the side. He refused to take it off even though Team 5D's had long split up. Yusei still could feel the bonds that they all shared deep in his heart even though they were thousands of miles apart. Still smirking to himself, he opened up the compartment under the seat of the motorcycle where he kept his helmet and took it out, putting it on his head, mounting the bike. He revved the engine and sped out of the parking garage toward his apartment on the other side of town.

As he drove in the warm night summer air, Yusei glanced around at the bright city flying by him, taking note of how much it _hadn't_ really changed. Sure, they had more technology, it was cleaner, it was safer… but he still saw the same Neo Domino that he had grown accustom to. The same exact buildings stood when he had first entered the city from Satellite all those years ago, so he didn't really see a reason to think that it was totally different. The only thing he would except that had really changed since then was the people. They used to hate all Satellites, but now they saw them as equals. It didn't matter what island you grew up on, or if you had a marker or not, everyone was the same. It made him smile to know that the place he had grown up had improved since he lived there. He remembered the days when crime was how you got by, that if you had enough food to feed all the people in the house, it was a celebration, and when duel gangs, like Team Satisfaction, were around every corner. Now… it was becoming Neo Domino's proud twin. Mostly everyone had a job, enough food to feed their families two times over and had more than they had ever dreamed of. Yusei liked to think that he helped make the Satellite a better place with his and his friend's victory over the Dark Signers when he was eighteen. That victory, he thought, helped people around him realize that Neo Domino citizens and Satellite residents weren't so different after all.

Yusei pulled into the parking lot in front of The Tops Apartment Complex. Yes, he owned an apartment in The Tops, like Rua and Ruka had before they moved to London to be with their parents. The professor dismounted his D-wheel and took his helmet off, tossing it back into the hidden seat compartment. He walked through the front doors and began walking up the stairs toward his small home. When he got there, twenty floors later, he took out his keys and unlocked the door, walking in to see a mess on the main room's floor, as if someone had broken in and robbed him. A light was coming from the corner of the room and he ran toward the source… finding a man rummaging through his fridge. Yusei flipped the lights on and saw a black haired teen with a piece of cold pizza shoved in his face.

Yusei smacked his forehead with his palm. "Takeru, what in the world are you doing up? And why are you eating pizza, do you know what time it is?" The apartment owner scolded. The black haired teen, Takeru, turned around and blinked in confusion to why Yusei was standing there. Usually he didn't come home until around two in the morning! Takeru Mori, Yusei's former Yami brought back to life by his own will, was rooming with the scientist since he was still learning about the current times and the technology it had. He had light green eyes and was wearing a gray t-shirt and black sweat pants, looking like a regular nineteen year old who was hungry in the middle of the night.

"Um… I can't really explain," he admitted, his mouth full. Yusei sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "About the mess… K-Katsumi did it!"

"Katsumi is on the other end of Japan right now with Jack, you idiot, you can't blame him for your messes anymore," Yusei pointed out, picking up one of the discarded blankets lying on the floor. "I swear it's like taking care of a little kid when you're around."

Takeru swallowed the food in his mouth and smirked. "And you're the one saying that you want kids and here you are complaining about me!" he shouted, slamming the fridge shut. Yusei narrowed his eyes at the green eyed man as he folded the blanket back up and put it in the corner. Not saying anything in return, he continued to pick up the mess that his friend had made while he was gone. "Whatever, I'm going to bed. G'night Yusei, see ya in the morning!" Takeru walked into his room and shut the door behind him.

Yusei rolled his eyes and threw away an empty pizza box his roommate had left on the couch. From his colleagues, he had heard that taking care of a fully grown teenager was much harder than taking care of a little kid. He knew that was the case with Takeru and since he was still growing used to the time period's technology, it was even harder. The teen didn't even know how to operate a stove without assistance. As he continued to pick up the living room, the smell of cold pizza filled Yusei's nose, making his stomach growl, demanding food. He had forgotten to eat dinner that evening… and lunch that afternoon… and he wasn't one for eating breakfast in general either. The last thing the blue eyed twenty-four year old had eaten was a sandwich from the lab's cafeteria the evening before, which, he may add, was disgusting to say the least.

"_I really need to remember to eat instead of staying in my office writing down new theories and postulates. Oi… no matter now, I need sleep more than I do food," _he thought. "Takeru, I'm going to bed! If you get up again, just don't wake me up. Do whatever you want… just don't kill anyone or spend money!"

"Gotcha, boss," Takeru muttered loud enough for Yusei to hear. The blue eyed duelist walked into his room and took off his jacket, leaving his gray shirt and navy-blue jeans on. He decided that he would take a shower when he got up in the morning and crawled into bed, falling asleep from pure exhaustion right when his head hit the pillow.

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><p>At seven o'clock Yusei's alarm clock buzzed and rang, wracking the man from his peaceful sleep. The sun's rays shone through his window and hit his eyes, making him squint when he sat up. He looked over to his nightstand, something he did every morning, and saw a picture of him and his old friends after they had won the WRGP. He was younger then, about nineteen and soon to turn twenty, holding up a trophy and smiling. Jack, to his left, was laughing, something he really didn't do that often, with a bottle of champagne. Crow, who was to Yusei's right, was also holding champagne, and he was smiling like an idiot. Yusei chuckled at his friend's expression. The twins even had a bottle in their hands… well Rua did… he was shooting his sister with the drink as Ruka held her hands up to block the drink squirting in her face. Bruno was holding his hat up in victory with a smile on his face. Yusei missed him each and every day, wishing that he could be here with him. Lastly, the last person standing in the corner of the photo with a bottle in her hands was Aki, smiling and glancing up at him when the camera had captured the image. Yusei sighed and got out of bed, not looking at the picture again, and got into the shower.<p>

He and Aki had decided to take a break from being in a relationship when she had announced that she would be going to medical school in France. He regretted that decision each and every day. The Fudo really did care for the magenta haired girl, but he couldn't just tell her to stay with him instead of fulfilling her dream of going to medical school to become a doctor. She would never do that to him, so why should he want to do it to her? They hadn't said a word to each other ever since she came into the garage the night before everyone left the city. She had come to tell him that she loved him… but that didn't work out so well. Instead, they ended up breaking up since they thought that a long-distance relationship would only make things go south. The phrase, "If you love something, set it free and if it returns to you, then it really is yours to love," came to mind when Yusei thought of his situation. So far… what he wanted to call his hadn't returned to him yet, not even sent a letter or called him. It made the small hope that was left in his heart fade away that he and Aki could still get together.

Yusei stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his lower body. He stepped outside his room and found Takeru already dressed with his own towel hung around his neck with his hair still dripping wet. The green eyed teen was rummaging through the mail.

"Hey, got anything mildly interesting this week besides bills?" Yusei asked as he walked over to the fridge, finally going to get something to eat after about a day without food.

Takeru nodded and tossed him a blue envelope. "It's from our girlfriends. Damn… why did Aiko _and_ Aki have to go to France? It's not fair!" he complained. Yusei's eyes went wide as he looked at the envelope. "Well read it out loud, I haven't read it yet either; I was waiting for you!"

Yusei quickly tore open the container and looked at the cover of the small piece of paper. Yusei's heart sunk and the letter fell from his hands, eyes filled with defeat. Confused, Takeru picked up the paper from the floor and read it himself.

"_You're invited to Aki Izayoi and Jeremy Hawthorne's wedding in Paris France on July 25__th__! The theme is going to be—," _the invitation went on and on about what the wedding was going to be like and what guests were to wear when they got there. Yusei was crushed, confused and hurt.

"My girlfriend is getting married to another man…" he muttered under his breath. Takeru shot a sympathetic look at his roommate and glanced back at the invitation. Why would she send him, the woman's ex for God's sake, an invite to her wedding? He still loved Aki very much, and Takeru was sure that Aki still knew that. Was the invitation just a way to torture poor Yusei? Or was it a way to tell him that she still wanted him? Well, it only made sense in Takeru's mind. If she sent it to him that meant that she wanted him to know that she was getting married and that may mean that she wants Yusei to come so he can stop the absurd event. The wedding was exactly a month away on the dot. What about the other members of Team 5D's? Had she sent them invitations as well? They needed to find out.

Takeru jumped out of his seat, picked Yusei up and tossed him into his room. "What are you doing just sitting on the floor for, Fudo? We're going to go get your girlfriend back!" he declared with a serious, yet dimwit like gaze. "But first, you need to get off work for a month because we're going around the world to find your friends! They're for sure to help you get Aki back into your life and dump this Jeremy guy!"

Yusei shook his head. "I can't do that, Taka, you know that. If this random Jeremy guy is the person she wants to spend the rest of her life with and not me, who am I to stop her? I'm her friend and pillar of support before I am her boyfriend. Besides… he may make her really happy and I don't want to take that away from her," he retorted, standing up and pulling a random shirt, jacket and pair of jeans out of his closet. He shut the door so he could change as Takeru impatiently tapped his foot, waiting for the professor to come back out. When he did, he emerged with a dark green jacket, a black undershirt and blue jeans. He was drying his black and yellow hair with his towel when he walked out of his room. "I don't think I'd be able to get off work for a month anyway."

"Yes you would! You've got like… fifty people working for you, they'd for sure take over your job as head researcher for a month! Come on, Yus! Think… why would she send you an invite if she didn't want you to come? If Aki didn't want you there, she wouldn't have said anything or sent anything. Plus… this may be your last chance to plea and reason with her that you're her number one, you idiot! Jack, Crow, the twins, Katsumi and Riku would love to help you get her back! I'm sure those French guys know how to charm anyone into liking them, so maybe she's under some kind of… uh… some kind of French-guy spell!" Yusei shot his former Yami a very concerned glance as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"How do you know so much about French people and yet you don't know how to work a stove?" the duelist questioned.

Takeru shrugged. "It gets boring here all alone, so I turn on the TV and watch something random. Usually it's some kind of morning drama show that has a lot of French people on it… they seem like total bastards," he explained. Yusei rolled his eyes and drank his black coffee. Takeru narrowed his eyes and pulled the cup of coffee from Yusei's lips, setting it down on the counter. "Listen to me for once! You can't just give up on the one person you actually loved!"

"If she loves someone more than she does me, then she should be with that person," the blue eyed professor said, a sad tone ringing in his voice as he looked at Takeru in the eye.

"You don't know if she likes him more until she has both of you to compare at the same time. You're going to that wedding whether you like it or not! And we're going to get the others and see what they think about this. Besides, this gives us a really good excuse to go visit them!" Takeru replied, eyes wide with encouragement and excitement. Yusei looked down and thought to himself for a moment.

"Well… I guess it couldn't hurt to try," he admitted quietly with a small smirk. Takeru smiled brightly before running into his room. "What are you doing now?"

"I'm packing so I can be ready to get on a plane! I've always wanted to go on one ever since I became human!" he announced from his room as he threw random pieces of clothing into a bag. "Next stop: London to see the twins!"

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><p>Well… do you guys like where this is going or not? If not, I'll take it down and everyone can forget this was ever written. Please review so you can let me know just what to do with this thing! XD<p>

It's been a while since I've said and... Review + Being Nice = Happy Chibi Duelist.


	2. Chapter 2

If you couldn't tell from the last chapter, Takeru will be joining me in my intro.

Takeru: Hi, I'm Takeru

Chibi: They know that already, idiot.

Takeru: Uh… I knew that.

Chibi: Anyway, so… you guys liked it? Surprisingly, it took me a while to think of this idea. And being a freshman in high school is making me have a really bad brain and almost no time to do anything anymore. It's really weird… so anyway, this is chapter two of Reunions.

Takeru: You better give us a happy ending, you evil lady.

Chibi: Again… I can kill you off.

Takeru: Damn…

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><p>That same morning that he had received the invitation, Yusei strutted into work in casual clothes. Miyuki was sitting at her desk and waiting for her boss to come in. She stood up and grabbed her clipboard, running over to the professor. "Good morning, Mr. Fudo! Um… let's see… Mr. Hiroki has requested that you—," she began, but she stopped when Yusei put his hand up to stop her. "Um… is something the matter this morning, Mr. Fudo?"<p>

Yusei shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not exactly here to work today, Miyuki. I've come to… ask for some time off, actually," he explained. Miyuki's eyes widen at the news. Yusei never asked off for work! "I'm going on a trip for the next month and I need someone to take over until I get back."

"Why didn't you ask off before now?" his assistant asked with her hand on her hip and a smug expression plastered on her face.

Yusei's cheeks heated up in embarrassment. "T-the trip was planned about an hour ago, that's why it's so last minute. I'm sorry, Miyuki, but it's a really important trip, believe me," he encouraged, stepping into the elevator. Yusei motioned for the gray eyed woman to follow him and she did.

"What's so important about this vacation, Mr. Fudo, if you don't mind me asking?" she asked, looking up at him.

He cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm going to visit all of my old teammates. It's been over a year since I've seen them, so I figured that it was about time to see them. Call it an epiphany if you will. This morning I received some… disheartening news… and it made me realize that I shouldn't waste my life away _always_ working. I need to make time for my friends," he revealed. Miyuki nodded, partly understanding his situation. The elevator dinged, signaling that they were on the floor where Yusei's office was located. He stepped out, but his assistant didn't follow as he began to walk down the hallway. She just stood there in the middle of the walkway, waiting for him to tell her what to do. "Miyuki-san, could you find Hiroki and tell him that he's going to be in charge for a month or so? I'd appreciate it."

She smiled and bowed. "Of course, Mr. Fudo," she said before running down the other end of the corridor. Yusei smiled, content with leaving things in his "Second in command," so the other scientist liked to call himself, right hand man, Hiroki. He was a little older than Yusei, but he surely didn't act as such. He still would play video games in his office and play paper foot-ball with his brother whenever he came in to visit. Though, he was still very intelligent to say the least. As an added back-up, they had Miyuki, who was always calm in bad situations and she always knew what to do; rather she just liked to be told what to do instead of relying on her gut instinct.

Yusei entered his code into the lock pad next to his door and went inside. He grabbed his glasses, briefcase and a few files that had papers he could work on while he was on the plane. With that, he went back down to the main level and saw Hiroki standing there, waiting for him. His expression was horrified, his navy blue hair was a wreck and his lab coat was wrinkly, as if he had just put it on after wadding it up in a ball.

"You can't be serious, Mr. Fudo! You're giving me the position of head developer until you get back? I can't do that for a month! Sure, I would understand if it was for a couple days or something small like a week, but a month? Have you finally gone insane? Are the rumors about you going off the deep end from your numerous hours true?" Hiroki shouted, running his hands through his hair nervously.

"_There are rumors going around about me losing my mind? I'll address that when I get back…" _Yusei thought, becoming both puzzled and slightly offended. The professor nodded. "I am serious, and no… I haven't gone insane. I trust you and Miyuki to maintain things around here while I'm gone. But if I see that the Fortune Momentum caused a second Zero Reverse, I will be enraged. If anything goes wrong with the Momentum, there's a file on what to do in my office. I stayed here until midnight last night making sure everything was in order, like I do every night, and didn't see anything out of line. But if something seems off, the code to get in my office is G2-MA-88. If you can't remember that, then remember to look up my criminal record since my code is my criminal number. That should be easy enough, yes?"

Hiroki's answer was a totally blank expression on his face. "I sense an eighty-five percent chance that I'm going to screw up," he said sheepishly.

Miyuki chuckled at her new temporary boss's prediction and turned to Yusei with a reassuring smile on her face. "Don't worry, Mr. Fudo, I got every bit of that written down. Nothing should go wrong and I hope you enjoy your trip to visit the old Team 5D's. Have a good day!" she said as Yusei walked past the two of them.

"You as well, and Hiroki… I know you're going to do fine; you're one of the only people I trust here. You and Miyuki make that list right on top, so don't worry about a thing!" The duelist called as he walked out of the revolving doors. He got on his D-wheel when he got to the parking garage and sped back to The Tops.

Takeru was waiting for him, tapping his foot with their suitcases next to him. Yusei waved when he saw him and parked the Yusei-Go in their personal garage. He locked the doors and made sure that his motorcycle was safe for his month gone, leaving one of his most prized possessions behind. He ran back out to the curb and found Taka again. He was wearing a navy blue jacket and white t-shirt with black jeans, converse on his feet. The two of them were going to get a taxi and head for Neo Domino Airport. Yusei made enough money to get them both tickets to London and the two more sets of tickets: one for northern Japan where Jack and Crow were at and the other for Paris, France at the end of the month.

A taxi stopped in front of them without having to even signal for it. Yusei smiled in thanks and put his things as well as Takeru's in the trunk. Once everything was in, he slammed the lid shut and got inside. "Neo Domino Airport, please," he instructed. The taxi cab driver nodded and started driving to their destination.

Though Takeru's facial expression didn't exactly show it, he was excited about the adventure. His eyes glistened with eagerness and anticipation as they got closer and closer to the airport. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. Like a little kid, he started asking random questions. "Yusei, what's it like flying in a plane? Is it fun or scary? Is it any different than riding in a car or on a D-wheel? What kind of things do we have to go through at the airport? Are we there yet? Hey, you look tired… or annoyed… you okay?" Yusei's left eye twitched as he stared out the window.

"The only time I've been in a plane was when I went from the city to the Satellite about five years ago, so I can't really remember much of it, therefore I can't answer your first three questions. From what I hear, there is a lot of security and bag-checks, so that may take about an hour to get through. And no… we aren't there yet. Yes, I'm tired and yes, I'm partially annoyed at the moment," he answered, becoming even more irritated than before, if that was even possible. He really did question how he was going to make it with a month of dealing with Takeru always by his side. When he was a Yami, he wasn't this annoying and eager, he recalled.

"Oh, sorry," Takeru apologized and went back to looking at the traffic flying by his window. A fifteen minute drive later, they arrived at the airport, which Takeru was amazed by. "Damn Yusei, why don't we come here more often?"

"Because we can't constantly fly to random places, you idiot, like we are this month," Yusei said, towing both of their sets of luggage behind him. "Come help me, I'm not as strong as I appear!"

"Again, sorry," the black haired teen said, picking up his two bags, lifting some weight off of Yusei's arms. The two of them got their tickets, went through security, which seemed to take forever, and sat down near a large panel of windows near the take-off area. Takeru watched as the large planes outside took off. Yusei, on the other hand, was listening to music on his Ipod. Out of the blue, Takeru pulled on Yusei's jacket sleeve. The azure eyed man took out one ear bud and looked outside, seeing black clouds filing through the air.

"Is it safe to fly in a really creepy looking storm?" the teen asked. Yusei shook his head, sighing in discontent. Their flight may be delayed because of the weather now. The partners looked up at their flight to London to see if it was canceled or delayed, but in bright green letters, it still said, "On time." The two of them shrugged and got up when it changed to, "Boarding." They got their bags and suitcases and got on the plane with ease.

As they took off, Takeru couldn't help but to smile and be fascinated by the smallest of things. "I never knew being a human had so many exciting benefits to it! You get to eat, fly on planes, interact with people other than your host and you even get to have your own body! Dude, this is great!" he announced. Yusei chuckled and put his ear buds back in his ears, listening to his music and letting it drown out Takeru's pointless and redundant ramblings. He got into his carry-on bag and took out his newest design for a faster, more cutting edge D-wheel. Equations, numbers and scientific processes flew through his head as he worked, but he just didn't feel right focusing on his project. His thoughts kept wandering off to the twins, Jack, Crow and Aki and what he was going to say to them when they met up. Yusei put his papers and pen away, staring out the window to look at the clouds passing by instead, letting his thoughts engulf his being.

He wondered what school the twins were going to and if Rua was still going pro with his dueling. He hadn't spoken to either of them in a year, but they've been sending letters back and forth every once and a while. The last he heard, Ruka had been accepted into a wonderful college in the southern part of the London area and Rua was getting high up in the pro leagues, almost alongside where Yusei was. He was proud of the eighteen year old twins and all they had accomplished. Then the thought of him meeting their parents came to mind. They had been out of the two teal haired sibling's lives for a very important part of their lives. Middle school, the Dark Signer battles, the WRGP and the fight with Z-one, their parents didn't even call or come to Domino to see if their children were alright. It made Yusei wonder what kind of parents Rua and Ruka had and if they actually did care about them.

The crab haired man sighed, knowing full-well that this was going to be a very long twelve hour flight if he couldn't keep his thoughts in check.

~twelve hours later~

Takeru shook a sleeping Yusei's shoulder, trying to wake him up as they flew over the wondrous city of London. Azure eyes opened, but their vision was blurry as they tried to find out where exactly they were. Yusei then remembered that he and Takeru were on a plane, headed for England to see the twins. He glanced out his window and saw that it was nearly sundown in the large city, but dark clouds, much like the ones they had seen in Domino, were rolling in. But it wasn't the sunset that caught his eye. Rather, it was all the lights, buildings and parks. Big Ben fascinated him as did The London Eye, a large Ferris wheel in the center of the city. His heart filled with the feeling of adventure and excitement, a feeling he hadn't felt since his last Riding Duel with Jack. Takeru pushed Yusei's head out of the way so he could see the sites as well, irritating Yusei in the process.

"Amazing, this place looks amazing!" the younger exclaimed, eyes shining. "Yusei, aren't you excited?"

"I guess I am… I'm looking forward to seeing Rua and Ruka, if that's what you're asking," the professor answered, propping elbow on the arm rest while his head rested on his hand. Takeru sat back down and smirked. "What's with the smile?"

"Admit it and show some emotion for once, you're happy about being here, aren't you?" the teenager guessed.

Yusei merely shrugged in response, sinking down in his seat a little more as the plane landed in Heathrow Airports. As they were let off the plane and got their luggage, Yusei rummaged through his bag and found what he was looking for. It was a letter Rua had sent him with his address on it. "1961 Great Peter Street, London, England," it read in the top left hand corner. Takeru and Yusei got into a cab and picked a random hotel to stay at. A fairly nice one with cheap prices fit right up Yusei's ally. They got a two bedroom suite with a bathroom and a balcony, which… again… fascinated Takeru to no end. It seemed, so Yusei thought, that anything that wasn't his apartment back at the Tops would interest the former spirit.

Once they had their suitcases unpacked, the two of them got another taxi and began making their way to Ruka and Rua's place. Yusei couldn't help but smile, he was getting to see the twins for the first time in what felt like forever. He glanced down at his arm and rolled up his right jacket sleeve, finding nothing on his arm, where his mark of the dragon used to be. Takeru looked down at him and shrugged, patting his friend on the shoulder in a reassuring matter. He knew just what was going through the former Signer's head. He believed that the Crimson Dragon had connected him and all of his friends together in a close web, but with those marks gone, they had spread apart. It had merely been coincidence that everyone went their separate ways on the day that the Crimson Dragon had taken away their marks. But no matter how much he tried to push the thought away, he felt as if he and his friends were drifting apart day by day. But that would end soon.

The taxi cab driver stopped in front of a long stretch of houses that all connected to one another. Each of the houses was two stories high, but they didn't seem very wide on the outside. Yusei paid their driver and stepped out of the car just as it started to rain. Takeru groaned in annoyance, hating getting his hair wet. Yusei just took his bag off his shoulders and put it over his head as they looked for the address on the letter. When they spotted it, they ran up to the building as quickly as they could to get out of the rain. It was light gray in color and had a homey feeling to it, something the twins had most likely brought onto the plot themselves. Yusei knocked on the door, waiting and hoping for an answer.

"Coming!" someone yelled from the inside. It was a girl voice, a voice both Yusei and Takeru knew so well. A tall, teal haired girl wearing short jean-shorts and a baby blue tank top answered the door. The girl's eyes were as golden as ever, filled with life and the normal happiness that made anyone around her smile, even Yusei, who never seemed to smile at all. The gold eyes widen in surprise as she recognized at the door and she threw her arms around the two taller men. "Oh my God, I can't believe you're here! What are you guys doing in London?" Ruka exclaimed cheerfully.

"We came to see you and your brother! Where is he? Is he here with you?" Yusei asked, smiling brightly. The eighteen year old girl nodded, motioning for the two to come inside. They both came inside, shivering from standing out in the rain. "Rua, are you here?"

Another eighteen year old, a tall male though, ran down the narrow stairs and jumped from the steps, falling in the process. No matter how many years he aged, he would always be clumsy. He had long teal hair, much like his sisters, but it was held back in a tight ponytail. He had the same golden eye color as his twin and he wore a blue jacket over a gray shirt and gray sweatpants. Ruka couldn't help but laugh at her sibling as he fell onto the kitchen floor, hitting his head on the chair. Rua saw stars fly around in his vision, but he quickly got up and ran into the front room when he remembered just who had said his name. He stopped when he saw Yusei and Takeru standing in their doorway and smiled like an idiotic twelve year old, like he used to at that age way back when.

"YUSEI, TAKERU!" Rua shouted as he proceeded to glomp the researcher and older teenager. The other two boys yelped in both pain and surprise when the teal haired male tackled them to the floor. "I've missed you guys so much! Have you been watching my duels? I'm pretty awesome, aren't I? What are you two doing in London? Not that I'm not happy to see you, I am, but I'm just wondering! Come on, I wanna show you how much I've improved my mad dueling skills!" Yusei chuckled at Rua's comments. He was starting to sound like the hyperactive twelve year old that he remembered when he had first dueled him in the Tops so long ago. The only real difference that Yusei noticed was that his voice had gotten a lot deeper and he was now about six foot, three inches, so he estimated.

"I would answer your questions, Rua, if I could breathe!" Takeru complained, wiggling under the weight of the male twin.

"Oh right, sorry," Rua apologized as he stood up again, helping his guests to their feet. "So, what are you two doing in London this time of year? Sure, there are tourists in the summer, but there are always tourists in London. Is their some kind of science convention in town or something?"

Yusei shook his head and reached into his pocket, taking out Aki's wedding invitation, his facial expressions suddenly going from happy to grim. "It's this… did you guys get one in the mail yet?" the raven haired duelist asked, handing Ruka the card. She read over it and gasped, putting a hand over her mouth in shock. Rua then stole the card from his sister's hand, reading it over for himself. He had a shocked look on his face, brows raised and eyes wide when he was finished. Yusei sighed, snatching the invite from Rua and putting it back in his pocket. "I'm taking your reactions as a no."

"Aki-san is getting married… to someone other than you?" Ruka said in shock. Yusei nodded, becoming crushed all over again. She ran outside in the rain and got into their mail box. Shutting the door behind her, she tossed anything that wasn't from Aki in a random direction. One of the last envelopes was from the girl's older sister figure, and when she opened it, the content inside matched Yusei's wedding invitation.

Rua rolled his eyes. "How could she find someone in France? I hear all the guys over there are romantic idiotic bastards."

"That's exactly what I said! But then again, I'm basing my outcome on morning sitcoms, but same difference," Takeru said bluntly.

"Must you classify all French dudes as hopeless romantic bastards? That's not true for a lot of French men, so I hear," Yusei pointed out, slapping his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Just quit calling all of the French guys out there that… and just this Jeremy guy. It's offending to many people." Rua and Takeru shrugged, shoving their hands in their pockets, looking around the room awkwardly.

"Anyway, what are you going to do, Yusei?" Ruka asked, getting everyone back on topic.

Shrugging his shoulders, Yusei sighed and had a hopeless glint in his azure eyes. "The only thing I can do is go to the wedding and hope to reason with her. The best outcome could be that she just forgot what it was like to be with me… and found someone new. The worst possibility… is that she just doesn't like me anymore, and you three know that wouldn't be the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'd be lost without Aki or any of my friends for that matter… but I love Aki, I really do. I just want her back."

Ruka hugged her "Older brother" and tears began to prick her eyes. "Don't worry, Yusei, we'll help you get her back and away from this Jeremy guy!" she declared with a sniffle. Yusei was actually taken back at the younger girl's actions. It felt old to have her hug him now. The last time she had embraced the scientist was when Sherry had told him that he would die on the Ark Cradle and her and her brother were scared out of their minds that they would lose him. Now, she was taller, all grown up, not that scared little kid that he knew at the Fortune Cup. It seemed like everyone around him was changing, but all of it was for the better. Rua and Ruka were so grown up now; Yusei recalled when they would bicker and act like little kids, the memory making him smile. He wrapped his arms around Ruka in return and smiled slightly.

"Thank you, Ruka, that means a lot," he said quietly. She nodded in response, and then pulled away from him, smiling, but also crying a little. Yusei wiped off her tears.

"Well, how much longer do you guys have in London?" Rua questioned.

Takeru smirked. "We've got about four days here before we have to leave for Japan again! When we leave here, we're heading out to see Crow!" he answered.

Rua's face and eyes beamed with excitement. "We get to show you around London! This'll be great! We get to hang out with you guys again and we can go to the London Eye and Big Ben and—," he continued naming many, many places that they would eventually have to go to in their short four days. Yusei had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that he would be running around the large city a lot in the next ninety-four hours.

* * *

><p>Me: Takeru, Rua, you guys are so mean to French people! I have people reading in France and I'm sure they take offence to you calling them romantic bastards!<p>

Takeru: *sighs* Well, I'm sorry! I get all of my judgments from morning shows and movies since those are my only form of entertainment while Yusei's at work! Most of the French people hit on any pretty girl they see in the movies.

Me: *hits Taka with a frying pan* you idiot, probably not even a whole 5 percent of French people are like that!

Takeru: Where did you even get that thing?

Me: I found it… anyway, do the thingy that I always do at the end of a chapter!

Takeru: Oi… Reviews + Being nice = Happy Chibi Duelist and a non-harmed me. So please review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chibi**: *sleeping*  
><strong>Takeru<strong>: What's wrong with her? She's usually really awake whenever she posts a new chapter.  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: She left a note explaining everything. It says, "Dear Yusei, Takeru and readers: If I fell asleep, I apologize. I wanted to take my hunters education test and class yesterday morning through evening. I had to shoot many, many guns, learn self-defense from my dad's work buddy Brian, listen to lectures for about six hours, sit through a three hour video about how dangerous it was to go out in the woods alone and on how to make sure a gun won't go off if you drop it—,"  
><strong>Takeru<strong>: Dude, that sounds really boring!  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: Anyway… "The class started at seven in the morning, the written test was at five in the evening, performance exam was at six, and then we all had a party to celebrate our passing grades on the written part of the final exam and the shooting part… I got a 100% on the written part and a 97 out of 100 points on the shoot-off. But the party lasted until midnight since the fathers there all got drunk and their wives and our mothers had to come pick them up. Then today I had to go to school to add insult to injury. Hope you enjoy the chapter and have a wonderful day. Love, Chibi."  
><strong>Takeru<strong>: Damn, when did she have the time to write that?  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: *shrug* got me… anyway, um… here you go, I guess. New chapter for you guys.

* * *

><p>After four long days of nothing but touring around the large city that was London, Takeru and Yusei returned to their hotel with nothing but sore feet and a couple of souvenirs. With an exhausted groan, the black haired teen tossed his draw-string bag onto the floor and flopped into the bed. Yusei on the other hand, took out their empty luggage bags from the closet and commenced to take all of their unworn clothes out of the dresser drawers as well as their dirty clothes.<p>

"I take everything back I said about how being a human is great, it sucks!" he complained as Yusei began packing up their stuff again. Takeru looked up with purple bags under his eyes and a confused expression on his face. "What are you doing, Fudo?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing our stuff," Yusei answered, annoyance very clear in his tone. Takeru groaned yet again and picked up one of his pillows, throwing it over his face. "Now start getting your stuff together, too, Takeru."

"Why? We're not leaving for another day or so," he shot back, the pillow muffling his voice slightly.

"No, actually, our flight leaves in about three hours," Yusei countered, folding up one of his jackets and putting it into his suitcase. Takeru shot up from his bed and chucked the pillow at Yusei's face, hitting the scientist in the back of the head.

"You lie! We just got here!"

"Takeru… it's been four days since we landed here in London. Now we have to go talk to Crow and Riku to see what their take on the whole Aki situation is." With that, Yusei finished packing up both of their things, personal items included. He looked over at Takeru… who had crawled into his temporary emo corner for this stay. "Not this emo corner nonsense again, Taka. Come on, we gotta go! We have to check out, get a cab, drive to the airport, get through security, and only then can we get on the plane… and who knows if we'll even make our flight at this rate!"

"But I don't want to go! I like it here in London!" the former spirit complained.

Yusei crossed his arms in front of his chest and tapped his foot. "If you come on now… I'll let you and Riku play pranks on me while I'm sleeping."

The next thing he knew, Takeru was right in front of Yusei's face with a sly and sinister smirk playing on his lips. "You are SO going to regret that, Fudo," Takeru pointed out. Yusei smiled and picked up his luggage, walking toward the door.

"I know I will, now let's get going!" Takeru was already out the door with his things, running down the hallway toward the elevator. Yusei groaned and grabbed his bags as well, chasing after him. "Wait for me!"

The two of them called a cab and drove to the airport. They went through the same process they had at the Neo Domino Airport. Getting there, getting the tickets, going through about an hour of security and finally waiting to board the plane. Yusei had his ear buds in his ears, just like last time while Takeru glanced around the large facility with fascination. After getting bored with his odd activities, though, he began to annoy Yusei, his favorite pass time! He would poke him, take his ear buds out and put them in his ears, swat imaginary flies off his face with a rolled up magazine and whatnot. It took all of the scientist's will power not to murder the nineteen year old.

"What is it that you want?" Yusei shouted, everyone waiting in the terminal staring at him. Heat rushed into his cheeks as he slumped down into his seat again and glared at Takeru, who was trying to contain his laugh, but was failing miserably. "Well?"

"I just wanted to annoy you, but now that you mention it… what are you going to do when we get to France? Show up on the wedding day and yell, 'I object!' in the middle of the ceremony? Dude, they don't even ask if anyone objects no a days, you know that right?" Taka asked, sitting back in his own seat.

Yusei looked around, making sure that no one was still looking at him like he was crazy. No one was, much to his delight. Sighing, he answered, "I was hoping to get sometime alone with Aki when I got there before the wedding. If I can talk to her long enough, she may just come back to me, forgetting about this stupid Jeremy guy."

Takeru shrugged and took his carryon bag off his shoulders, scrimmaging around through it to find something to eat. He smiled when he found a granola bar. Tearing it open, he tore off a piece and tossed it in his mouth. "What if you meet this Jeremy guy and figure out that he's a nice dude and that he's way better than you'll ever be," he pointed out. He looked up and got a face full of travel pillow. The teenager yelped and was flung out of his chair from the impact, falling on the floor and hitting his head. Groaning, he sat up and saw a furious Yusei standing up from his seat. The duelist's eyes were coated with fire and his face matched their new color. Takeru stumbled to his feet, now panicking and worrying that he was going to be killed. "I-I didn't mean that! H-he's a jerk! No matter what, he's a jerk! I'm sorry, don't murder me!"

Yusei was still flustered. "You know full well that Aki is the only person that I've ever loved, and the only one that I'm ever going to! Even if this Jeremy Hawthorn guy is the greatest person on earth, I'm going to strive to do him one better!" Yusei declared proudly. Takeru, in fear, glanced around the room. Anything to not make direct eye contact with Yusei! He noticed that their plane was now boarding. Scrambling to his feet and still not looking his friend in the eye, he pushed him toward the loading dock. "What in blazes are you doing?"

"Plane, board, now!" the other shouted before pushing Yusei threw the door, ignoring the confused and slightly horrified flight attendant waiting by the door. Takeru ran back to their spot, grabbed both of their carryon bags and ran back in the same direction. He handed the lady their tickets and muttered, "Is there any chance in the world that I could get a seat NOT by him anymore? That man scares me when he's pissed."

* * *

><p>~after another 12 hour flight~<p>

It was dark when the two males got into Japan again and Yusei, still slightly mad at his roommate, stepped off the plane and glanced around at the new airport. It seemed smaller than the two that he had already been to. Takeru stepped down behind him and walked into the cool terminal. He took off his jacket, still burning up from behind cramped up around with a bunch of people in a small place and from the lack of cold air on the plane. Yusei did the same, but when he did, he looked up at a poster hanging on the wall. The scientist's eyes widen at what it was of as he pulled on his partner's shirt sleeve to get his attention. They gazed at the poster with mouths hung open like trout.

On the large piece of cardboard was Crow Hogan, holding his helmet under his arm and leaning up against the Blackbird, his signature devilish smirk on his face. On the top, it read, "Crow Hogan vs. Matsuda Mako! Be there at the Prince Dome on July 6th at ten PM to witness this heated match up!"

"Well, we know where we're going to find Crow," Takeru muttered, adjusting the bag on his shoulder. "What time is it right now here?"

Yusei looked for a clock on a wall or someone with a watch. He found a clock on a nearby wall and it read 8:26. "We gotta go now! The duel starts in almost an hour half an hour ago!" With that, he grabbed Taka's wrist and ran to get their luggage. When they got it after waiting in a long line that felt like it went on forever, Yusei looked at the clock again to see it had only been a five minute wait. He face palmed and grabbed a cab, heading for a local motel. He would get a better hotel the next morning, the only thing that mattered right then was getting to Crow before the duel started. He wanted to talk to the carrot top as soon as he could. The two of them checked into a rundown hotel, which made Taka cringe since he was so used to nice places. Yusei didn't mind though since he grew up in much, much worse than where they are now. The city hadn't made him soft just yet. They literally tossed their bags into their room and ran toward the Prince Dome about five blocks away from where they were staying.

Once there, the line to get in was huge, extending all the way around one block of buildings. Yusei groaned and looked at his watch, which he had set for this city's time. It was nearing nine o'clock. Then, like a bolt of lightning, it hit him. He was a professional duelist for God's sake! He could probably get in before anyone else, and the fact that he was a friend of one of the competitors helped things. He tapped Taka on the shoulder, pointing toward the entrance. They both nodded once to each other and snuck to the very front, finding a tall security guard standing at the gate. Yusei straightened his jacket and smiled like he actually knew what he was doing and that he belonged in the Prince Dome.

Yusei walked up to the very intimidating looking guard, who was staring right at him. "Who do you think you are? You can't just ignore all of these here people waiting in line," the guard shot at the pro duelist.

The crab haired man shrugged and snickered. "I'm a friend of Crow Hogan, sir. And I'm Yusei Fudo, champion of the Fortune Cup and one of the members of the old Team 5D's that won the World Riding Duel Grand Prix in Neo Domino city… I'm the current King in that city," he answered sharply. The whole crowd went dead silent. You could hear the person breathing next to you; it was that quite as they all gazed at the famous professor and duelist. Takeru was the only one not staring in amazement, no, he was staring in disbelief that his roommate was so well known that he could make a roughly one-thousand plus crowd of excited fans go speechless.

"I k-knew you looked familiar! I'm sorry, Mr. Fudo, please… you and your friend behind you… g-go right on in. And if anyone else inside stops you from seeing Mr. Hogan, just tell them who you are; they'll let you see him! After all, he's your old teammate!" the security man declared, letting the two men inside without a fuss. Yusei bowed his head slightly in thanks and smiled, walking inside. Takeru, who was still in his, "What-the-hell-just-freaking-happened," mode, followed his friend into the Prince Dome.

"How the hell did you do that, man? Are you that famous? And I thought you hated throwing around your title like that!" Takeru yelled, very confused.

The other shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Fame does have its perks at some points. And yes, I do hate throwing my title of Neo Domino's King around just to get what I want, but this was just one of those very rare times that it was needed. I sort of feel bad now that it's over with. I slowed the line down and those people have probably been waiting for hours to get in," he answered, looking around the dull gray hallways. He glanced down at his watch and saw that it was 9:16. He had about forty-five minutes to find and talk to Crow.

They found another guard not long after the two duelists entered the facility. They asked him how to get to Crow Hogan's pit, but the officer declined on answering them since no one was allowed to bother Mr. Hogan while he was preparing for that nights match. Yusei, with a heavy heart, said that he was a friend of Crow and stated his name. Right when the words, "I'm Yusei Fudo," came out of his mouth, the man pointed to the stairs that led to an underground hallway that led to Crow's pit. The two of them thanked the man, and then followed his directions to the underground walkway.

Yusei was the first to come up out of the tunnel, seeing Crow sleeping with his feet kicked up on one of the computer monitors in the pits and snoring. Yusei chuckled; the Blackfeather duelist hadn't changed much over the years. His orange hair was as spiky as ever and his four yellow markers were still tattooed proudly all over his face. He was wearing a brown riding jacket with one of the company's that sponsored him logo on it and black riding pants with black riding boots to wrap the outfit up. His earrings were different, too. Instead of bolts, they were replaced with gold bullet casings. His nickname growing up had been Crow 'the Bullet' Hogan, so it fit in with his name.

Yusei laughed at his sleeping ally and walked up to him, shaking his shoulder. "No, boss, five more hours," the asleep man mumbled, swatting Yusei's hand away from his shoulder. Takeru ran up and smacked Crow in the head, making him fall off his chair. Instantly, he woke up. "Alright, I'm up! Is the duel starting, am I on camera?" The orange haired duelist looked around the room in a blind panic and turned around to see just who had woken him up.

"Good evening, Crow, did you have a nice sleep before your match started?" Yusei teased with a smirk.

Crow's eyes went wide when he saw just who was in front of him. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and blinked a few times. "Am I still dreaming or are you two actually here?"

"You're not dreaming, you brain dead idiot," Takeru answered, folding his arms over his chest. Crow smiled his big moronic grin and wrapped his two friends whom he hadn't seen in a year or so in a hug. They all laughed and hugged the other person back, happy to see the each other after the longest time of not even speaking to one another. Crow patted Yusei and Takeru on the back one last time before letting go and looking them both in the eye.

"Man… it seems like it was just yesterday that we were all find out that we had Yamis… and that was almost five years ago! Sheesh, how time flies when you're not really paying attention, don't it? You two have grown up a lot… well, Takeru, you have, but Yusei on the other hand is still tall and stone faced," Crow stated, pushing Yusei in the shoulder. Takeru laughed while the other duelist merely glared playfully at his former teammate.

"Man, that was five years ago… and hey… your birthday is coming up in September, isn't it?" Yusei questioned with a smile.

Crow nodded, holding up a thumb's up. "Yup, I'll be turning twenty-four, just like you, ya little genius!" he shot back.

"Hey, I'm not little… I'm taller than you."

Crow's left eye twitched. "You don't have to remind me, ya jerk," he muttered, crossing his arms in irritation. He shook off Yusei comment and continued smiling. "Anyway, what brings you two to this part of Japan? You two are some of the last people I would expect to see tonight, so… what gives? Something happen in Neo Domino?"

Yusei shrugged. "I guess you could say that. It's about A—," he began, but a loud horn sound cut him off. Takeru jumped and covered his ears to block out the loud noise.

"Ladies and gentlemen, will everyone take their seats for the duel is about to begin momentarily," an announcer declared over the intercom.

With a heavy sigh, Crow put his hand on Yusei's right shoulder. "That's my cue man; I gotta get onto my D-wheel. We can talk once this duel's over and done with… with me as the victor," Crow announced, smirking and running off toward the Blackbird. Yusei and Takeru smiled, sitting in the pit in front of the monitors to watch their friend duel. The two duelists jumped onto their motorcycles and rode to the starting line. Crow glared sportingly at his opponent as he revved his engine, waiting for the MC to let them begin their duel.

"Riders ready… 3, 2, 1… Riding Duel, Acceleration!" the MC shouted into his microphone. Crow and the other racer dashed out from the starting line. A shiver was sent down Yusei's spine when he heard those words over the intercom. He wanted so badly to get back on the track, feeling the wind wiz by his head and the adrenaline pump through his veins as he placed a card on his duel disk. He missed the days of Team 5Ds and he wanted that feeling of competing in a tournament to not be such a stranger to the scientist's mind. He wanted to go back, but he couldn't. All of his time was being taken up by the Fortune Momentum. He didn't have time for silly and fun things like Riding Duels or dueling in general anymore, that fact feeling heavy on his heart.

Almost everyone in the large stadium was cheering for Crow since he was the town's star and favorite to win. "_He has really made a name for himself in the past year or so here,"_ Yusei thought, a smile creeping up on him. The former pro was happy that his friend was getting to do what he loved as his career. Yusei loved both dueling and physics… but he couldn't do both. The ginger duelist riding on the track made quick work of his challenger, beating him in less than five rounds with his ace monster, Blackfeather Dragon. The whole crowd was applauding, cheering for the victor of the match. The Blackfeather user got off his D-wheel and walked over proudly to his adversary, shaking his hand with a smile. The other competitor smiled back and shook his hand in return, congratulating him on a duel well won.

It was around midnight when everything was over, which included photos and interviews. It took longer than it usually did, according to Crow, since Yusei was there. The three of them went back to Crow's small apartment uptown. Right when the ginger opened the door, Takeru was the one to get tackled to the ground. A teenager with light brown hair was the one to knock Taka off his feet. He was a bit shorter than Yusei, but still taller than Crow and was wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans.

"Dah, I've missed you, Taka! I've had to pull pranks on Crow by myself!" the teen, Riku Gionavi, shouted, still clinging onto his friend.

"Why does this keep happening to me?" the other former Yami muttered under his breath before laughing. "Riku, how the hell are you? I've missed you, too! And don't worry… I've got a few plans up my sleeve for those pranks you were talking about." Riku snickered and stood up, helping Takeru up off the hallway floor. Crow smiled and ushered them all inside to the slightly messy apartment.

Crow got everyone something to drink and showed them around, telling many stories about everything that had happened over the past year. He asked how the orphans were back in Domino. Yusei was happy to inform him that he would visit them and Martha every month just to check up on them. Each visit, they would always ask if he had heard from the ginger and ask how he was doing being a big shot- riding duelist.

Crow's eyes got teary. "The little nerds still care about their big brother Crow! I miss the little nerds! I wanna see them! Let's go to Domino right now, I gotta see the nerds!" he pleaded, begging on his knees to Yusei.

The crab head laughed. "I'm not going back to Domino for another month or so, Crow. Speaking of which… there's something… you should know about. And I want your opinion on something."

* * *

><p><strong>Chibi<strong>: *waking up* did you guys like it? I think the ending kind of sucked, but whatever… anything to get it out on time this time around. I plan on updating once a week now.  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: Little nerds?  
><strong>Chibi<strong>: That's what Crow called the orphans in the English Dub and I kind of liked it… he sounded cute when he called them little nerds.  
><strong>Takeru<strong>: You always think Crow sounds cute.  
><strong>Chibi<strong>: You shut up, spirit boy. You don't wanna piss Chibi-chan off when she's this tired. *turns to you readers* Reviews + being nice + no Geometry homework = a happy and carefree Chibi Duelist. G'night guys. *falls back asleep*


	4. Chapter 4

**Chibi**: I feel alive this week… for once. No Geometry homework, no English test coming up since we just took our, "Romeo and Juliet," test yesterday, and no—  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: But now your whole World Geography class knows that you and Matt are STILL dating.  
><strong>Takeru<strong>: And he said the "L" word yesterday.  
><strong>Chibi<strong>: You two can shut up! Just because we did a project together, they figured it out… the vultures. It's been almost 3 years! It's not exactly a big secret. But I will admit… the L word made me smile. XD  
><strong>Takeru<strong>: But Mr. Arlinghaus knows about you guys dating so he's gonna pick on you two more than he already did!  
><strong>Chibi<strong>: Neither of you are helping! Please read the chapter while I beat these two into oblivion!

* * *

><p>Crow threw his hands in the air. "That's preposterous!" he exclaimed with steam coming out of his ears. "If she was gonna fall for someone else, why couldn't it have been me? I have no one!" Yusei's eye twitched… it seemed like it was doing that a lot lately.<p>

"Because then I would have to kill you," Yusei mumbled only loud enough for himself to hear. The scientist pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Crow, the only thing I really need to hear about this now is if you think I have a shot of getting her back. Were you even invited?"

A blank expression crossed the other duelist's face. "Uh… let me go check on that! I probably haven't checked my mail box in weeks!" he said as he ran out his apartment door. Not two minutes later, though, he was back with an arm's full of letters, bills and magazines. The ginger laid them all out on the table, scrimmaged through the envelopes until he found a pink on with is name on it in Aki's hand writing. "Yup, I've got one right here. And of course I think you have a chance of getting Aki back, you idiot. You were the one that saved her from her powers, you were her first love, you were the one that opened your arms to her when no one would… except for Divine, but he's dead now, so he doesn't matter."

Crow's statement sparked a light of hope in Yusei's mind, making him smile. The man stood up, which in turn, Takeru stood up as well, wondering what his former master would say.

"So… I have your support when I barge through the doors begging to get her back?" Yusei joked.

Crow laughed and put his arm around his friend's shoulder. "Of course, I'll even help you drag the body out and bury it! Well, only if you wanna go that far, that is," the ginger said sheepishly. Everyone in the room gave him a scared look, a look that said that they were secretly questioning his sanity. He sweat dropped and snickered. "I'm joking, calm down! Anyway, where are you guys staying until you go see Jack?"

"Just some run down motel a mile or two away from the race track," answered Takeru with a heavy sigh of disappointment. "I like nice hotels better… they're cleaner and have more food."

An imaginary light bulb shined over Crow's head. "Why don't you guys just stay here until you have to leave? It's cheaper and we actually get to hang out! It'll be just like when we were little, right Yusei? Oh those sleep overs in each other's rooms… watching movies, eating popcorn, playing Kings and peasants since we couldn't exactly play Kings and QUEENS, and drawing on Jack's face when he fell asleep. Good times, good and painful times. God, Jack was always in such a horrid mood after he woke up to find his face marked up with pen. Martha would then ground us… for a week… with no physical contact with anyone in the orphanage. Man, she really was crazy!"

"Crow, you're rambling," Yusei pointed out with a snicker.

The short ginger shook his head, getting back on track. "Right, sorry, anyway… do you guys want to stay here or what?" he offered again, holding his arms out as if waiting for someone to hug him. Yusei looked at Takeru, who was nodding rapidly. He just didn't want to stay in a roach infested motel. They could've stayed in some stranger's house and he wouldn't have cared just so long as it was a nice place.

The crab haired duelist nodded. "Thanks Crow, that means a lot," he said with a small smirk. Riku and Takeru jumped up and down, spinning in circles while holding hands.

"Pranks on Yusei and Crow!" they chanted together. Crow then began to bang his head on the nearest wall, while Yusei merely face palmed. He grabbed his "son" and dragged him out the door so he could help get the bags that they had left at the motel. They both walked home, talking about what they would do during their stay here in Northern Japan with Crow and Riku. Takeru went on and on about how they would play pranks on the servants back in the old days of three thousand years ago. He said that they used to poor urns of water onto the maid's heads and they'd run away screaming since they couldn't see him or Riku. Yusei couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous stories that his partner told.

When they got to the motel, they went back up to their room, Takeru refusing to go inside since it looked run down and not fancy. Yusei rolled his eyes and got both sets of belongings, tossing Taka's things to him as they went down the elevator. They checked out as soon as possible and began walking back to Crow's apartment.

Takeru nudged Yusei. "Hey, do you think this is… well, a bad part of town? I mean, just look at everyone on the corners yet it's so late," he pointed out. Yusei furrowed his brow at Taka's statement. He glanced around and saw a group of around five tall men, all of them with two or more markers staring them down with a menacing look in their eyes.

The champion shrugged and kept walking. "You forget where I grew up, Taka. Living in Satellite when it wasn't exactly the friendliest place wasn't a picnic for people. I started getting jumped by gangs like that when I was six. Martha wasn't stupid, either. She taught each one of her orphans' self-defense and made sure they had a pocket knife handy," he explained with a small smile.

"What's that have to do with anything now?"

Yusei pulled his shirt up and revealed a pocket knife sticking out of its place. "Never leave Neo Domino or Satellite without it." Takeru just stared at the weapon that his friend had concealed from him this whole time.

"How did you get that passed airport security twice?" Taka yelled, confused.

Yusei laughed. "On the outside, it looks like a pen, but if you press one of the buttons… we got yourself a knife. A scientist carrying around a pen at all times is common just in case we come up with a new invention or theory, so it looks in place in my pocket. Plus, do you really think people would expect someone like me to have a knife on me?"

"You're a genius, have I ever told you that? Because you are," Takeru said, feel a bit defeated and inadequate compared to his older friend. Yusei smiled and nodded once in thanks for the kind comment. They both ignored the street gang and continued to make their way back to Crow and Riku's apartment. When they got there, their hosts helped them unpack. Yusei and Takeru would have to sleep in the living room since the small apartment only had two bedrooms, which were already occupied by Crow and Riku. Yusei didn't really see a problem with it since there were two couches for them to sleep on. Though, Takeru did call dibs on the most comfortable one.

Crow let out a yawn. "Alright, change of plans. I think the movies and pranks and joking around will have to commence another night. I'm worn out from my duel today and you guys must be tired from your trip here all the way from England. What do ya say we hit the hay?" he suggested, eyes already droopy.

Yusei nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Good night, guys," he said as Crow and Riku retired to their rooms. Takeru tossed himself onto his couch and fell asleep right when his head hit the pillow… literally. Yusei went to go see if he was already asleep, and his friend was out like a light. Finding the given almost impossible, Yusei shrugged and turned off the lights, walking over to his couch and laid down, falling asleep just about as quickly as Takeru had.

* * *

><p>*Yusei's dream*<p>

He was in France with everyone sitting around him, all of his friends dressed up and smiling. A worried Yusei glanced around the room, trying to figure out just where he was. Reducing his options, the scientist deduced that he was in a chapel. Dressed in a black suit, he sat in the front row of the pews next to Jack and Crow, who were wearing the exact same thing he was.

"Here Comes the Bride," began to play on the piano and everyone in the room stood, even Yusei. His mind told him to sit back down, to stop the wedding, but his body just wouldn't move. He glanced back at the church doors and saw Aki, looking as beautiful as ever in her elegant wedding dress, walking down the aisle with a big smile on her face. She seemed… really happy… happier than she ever looked with Yusei, so he thought. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and she had a bouquet of roses, her favorite flower, in her hand. The woman made her way down the aisle, took a quick glance at Yusei and smiled brighter. The man smiled back, nodding once, but he didn't want to. He just wanted to snatch her away and take her for himself. Was that a selfish thing to do? He just wanted to hear why she left him without much closure. To him, it still felt like they were in love back in Neo Domino.

The guests sat down as Aki took the grooms hand. Yusei's eyes narrowed when he realized… that he hadn't seen the groom's face. He had been facing forward, not looking at his future wife as she gracefully walked down the small walkway. He had red hair, a little taller than Yusei by about two inches, and had a well-built figure. Something about the man struck a memory in Yusei's mind, but he couldn't place his finger on what was so familiar. He's seen this man before! But… he's never met anyone named Jeremy anywhere, so how could he have known him? Maybe it was merely an odd case of Déjà vu. Just as Yusei was about to relax in his seat, the groom looked back at him with a sly smirk on his face. The former Signer's eyes widen at who was standing with Aki at the altar.

"Divine," he said quietly, only loud enough for himself to hear. Divine smirked and snapped his fingers, causing all movement around him to stop. Yusei tried to move his feet or arms, but to no avail. The physic duelist, who was long thought to be dead after Misty's Earthbound God literally ate him, was standing right in front of Yusei, eyes glistening with evil intents. Divine grabbed a hold of Yusei's face, as if to study him. "Divine, how can you be—?"

"Quiet now, Mr. Fudo, it's rude to speak during a ceremony as grand as this!" the wicked man said in a caring tone, though Yusei knew he was anything but. The red haired man was a snake trying to pass as a human… and they both wanted to punch the other in the face. "You're the reason why I was devoured by that Earthbound God all those years ago, Mr. Fudo, and not it's time to pay for your unjust deeds."

"Unjust deeds my ass, you manipulative snake! You used Aki as your pawn to get ahead in life, to spread physic dueling everywhere, and to shock fear into everyone's hearts about you! You wanted to rule the world like a mad man, Divine, and you know I can't let something like that happen," Yusei spat as the other man let go of his face. A growl escaped his throat as Divine walked up to a frozen in time Aki, still smiling and looking forward. The former Arcadia Movement leader put his hand on Aki's cheek, snickering.

"Beautiful young woman she turned out to be, eh, Mr. Fudo?" the man teased.

"What do you want to do with her?" Yusei asked back.

"Simple: I want to take away the one thing that you truly hold dear to your heart, snatching it away from you right under your nose. Aki was the greatest choice. You've been separated; she needed someone to latch onto while you were back in Domino preforming all your silly tests on your Fortune Momentum. She believes that you forgot about her," he explained, a ravishing tone lingering in his voice. It was like venom to Yusei's ears.

"She knows I would never do that!" the scientist countered. "She knows I love her too much to just forget her like an old Duel Monsters card."

Divine snickered. "If she believes that you love her, then she's stupider than she appears to be."

"Shut up! You can't have her, I won't let you! How does she not remember all of the horrible things you did to her?"

"Because of this," Divine said before snapping his fingers once again. Almost instantly, his face and hair changed completely from their original form. Instead of red hair that came in front of his eye and flipped up, it was now brown and straight. He had a smaller frame and blue eyes, no scar on his face from the burns he received from when Carly beat him as a Dark Signer years ago. "Meet Jeremy Hawthorn, Mr. Fudo." Yusei also noted that his voice was a bit different sounding.

"That's impossible!" Yusei declared, becoming extremely pissed at the man before him.

"I'm a physic duelist, Mr. Fudo, I can do just about anything," Divine bragged with a smirk. Then, out in the distance, a loud and hollow sounding bell rung, crashing the once quiet scene. "Ah, that's my cue! I bid thee good-bye, Mr. Fudo. I hope to see you at the wedding in two weeks!"

* * *

><p>"Wait!" Yusei shouted as he shot up from the couch, sweat covering his body and he was breathing heavily. He quickly and nervously looked around the room to figure out just where the hell he was. Crow's familiar apartment walls filled his clearing vision. He glanced over to the other couch to find Takeru wide away and staring at him oddly. The clock read 9:12.<p>

"Um… are you okay, man?" Takeru asked, rubbing his eyes. Obviously, he had just woken up, or he had been wracked awake by Yusei's scream.

Crow ran out of his room with a baseball bat. "Where's the robber? I got this!" he shouted, hair a mess from his night's sleep. Riku then followed with a hammer, but he looked too sleepy to even be able to use it. Crow noted to never rely on Riku if a burglar ever breaks into their apartment in the middle of the night. Slowly, the ginger put his weapon back down. "Having nightmares again, Yusei?"

Said man nodded and got up as quickly as he could. "Dude, what's the rush? We've got, like… four more days here. Unless you guys slipped me some kind of drugs and I don't remember anything from the past few days," Takeru muttered, still half dead from his slumber.

"We'd never drug you," Riku admitted, setting his hammer on the table. Takeru smiled; glad to know that he hadn't been drugged!

"We're leaving for France today," Yusei said sternly.

"Today… what for and don't we have to visit Jack before we even think about heading for France?" Taka questioned, getting up from his couch and stretching. "You can't be serious, man."

"I'm dead serious. We're leaving for France," Yusei said again.

"Well, what's with the sudden rush then?" Crow wondered, pulling up a seat at the table.

"You know how I have dreams that sometimes tell me important things or warn me of something?" he quizzed while getting his as well as Takeru's belongings together.

Crow and the others nodded.

"Well, I had one last night and I know who the groom is… and you are REALLY not going to like who it is."

"Who is it?" Riku asked.

"Divine… he's back and he's the one marrying Aki. He's assumed a fake identity and name and the only reason he wants to marry Aki is to keep me from being with her. I have a bad feeling that he wants to do more than ruin my love life though… I think he's going to try to bring the Black Witch side of Aki back, to resurrect Arcadia," Yusei explained in a monotone voice.

Everyone in the room just stared at him like he was crazy.

"I'm telling the truth! Do you think I would lie about something like this?" he shouted, an angry look plastered on his face.

"Everyone pack your bags, we're going on a last minute vacation to France! I really should've taken French when I was offered to take it back when we were fourteen…" Crow mumbled. "Uh… anyone know how to say, 'get that bastard off my friend's girlfriend!' in French?" No one answered him. "Yeah, didn't really think so."

Riku pouted. "We didn't even get to play pranks on them…"

"We can do that when we get to France!" Takeru reminded his former Yami companion.

"Ah, no, I think we should go get Jack while Yusei and Taka go to France. It's the least we could do since Yusei knows what the new face of Divine will look like," the ginger pointed out. "Besides, I wanna go see Jack! I've wanted to duel that damn bastard for over a year and I've never gotten the chance to since our circuits rarely compete with each other! Oh, I can't wait to see the look on his face when I beat him! World King, please, he can't defeat Crow 'the Bullet' Hogan!"

Yusei couldn't help but laugh at his friend eagerness. "Alright, so it's settled. Crow and Riku are heading down to southern Japan while Takeru and I make… another… twelve hour trip over to Europe again. Then, we'll all meet up somewhere, find Divine and make him wish that Earthbound God really had eaten him. When you mess with Yusei Fudo's girlfriend and you try to take over the world, you don't come out unscathed."

* * *

><p><strong>Chibi<strong>: Alright, Chi-Chi has a party to get to, so I gotta go, bye guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and the twist!  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: *eye twitch* you brought Divine back? I'm going to kill you!  
><strong>Chibi<strong>: And that's my cue to leave! *runs out of the room*  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: Damn you, Chibi!  
><strong>Takeru<strong>: Uh… s-since Yusei's pissed and Chibi is gone, I guess I'll do the one thing. Uh, Reviews + Being nice + no Geometry homework = a happy Chibi Duelist. Have an awesome day while I try to keep Yusei from killing the author lady!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chibi**: *dancing to Moves like Jagger by Maroon 5*  
><strong>Takeru<strong>: What… the hell are you doing?  
><strong>Chibi<strong>: Here, listen *puts ear bud in his ear* catchy, isn't it?  
><strong>Takeru<strong>: O.O Very… *dancing*  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: What are you two doing?  
><strong>Takeru<strong>: *steals my ear bud and puts it in Yusei's ear* it's like crack for your ears!  
><strong>Me<strong>: Hey, that one's mine! Meh… oh, hi guys! *waves* well, that took up most of my intro, so enjoy the new chapter! It has a bit of Yusei torture in it, so that's for all us Yusei crazed fan girls out there. Enjoy was we dance to the awesomeness that is Maroon 5! Warning: It's a very long chapter, brace yourselves!

* * *

><p>The next day, the two travelers had landed safely in France without much of a hassle. Right when they entered the skies of Paris, they could see the Eiffel Tower as clear as day. Even though he was stressed out of his mind, Yusei couldn't help but to gaze at the huge monument's beauty. Takeru shrugged and merely claimed that he was already ready to head back to Domino, that he was sick of flying what felt like every single day. Yusei couldn't blame him, though; flying can get a bit boring after three times in the past two and a half weeks.<p>

They went through the normal process of getting checked into their hotel and unpacking their bags. Yusei sat down outside on his balcony, which had an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower, and pulled out his cell phone, dialing Crow's number. Takeru was inside taking a short nap in his room. After a few rings, someone picked up the phone.

"WHO'S MARRYING AKI?" Yusei jumped and dropped his phone in surprise. He quickly picked it back up when he heard the person continuously ranting on the other end.

"Jack, could you shut up for two seconds so I can explain? And why do you have Crow's phone?" Yusei said calmly, trying not to provoke the ignorant blond that was his best friend even further. Jack, who was on the other side of the world, was confused, pissed, tired, and most of all: pissed. Well, he was just really pissed, alright? Crow had barged into his penthouse, woken everyone up in the middle of the night merely to tell him that Yusei wasn't marrying Aki and that it was Divine in his place. He nearly beat the crap out of the ginger with a bat when he barged in!

"HOW COULD YOU LET AKI SLIP THROUGH YOUR FINGERS LIKE THAT, FUDO?" the World King shouted, nearly making Yusei drop his phone yet again.

"I didn't mean to, idiot, back off!" Yusei yelled. He never lost his composer like that, which made Jack question Yusei's current sanity. "Sorry, I'm just… really tired. I haven't slept since I had that dream about Divine, and that was about a day ago."

"Yusei, I've known you to go three days without any sleep at all because of the Fortune Momentum, it's always on the news here and it's making me sick seeing your face every time I turn on the TV. 'Is Yusei Fudo, head of the Fortune Momentum Reactor, going to end up like his father- sleep deprived and blowing up a whole city? That's what on tonight at eleven!' Seriously, man… get your ass off the news so I can be on there, a World King deserves as such!"

A defeated look crossed Yusei's face. _"Are they seriously saying that about me? And how'd they even find out about my father being the lead developer for the first Reactor anyway? And it was Rudger, not my dad, Rudger!" _Yusei though, head hung low in shame. "I'm not always sleep deprived; I'm just stressed and tired from working nights! And this is much worse… I want to sleep, but I can't because I'm too nervous about what I'll dream about next."

Back in Japan, Jack nodded and put the cell phone between his ear and his shoulder as he made a cup of fresh coffee for his guests. Ever since he went out on his own, sure he had become more self-centered when it comes to dueling, if that was even possible, but he'd also learned that others are important, too… but only friends are important. Strangers and challengers were just blockades in his way to greater glory. Now, he wouldn't spend twenty dollars on one cup of coffee… he would spend it on two! He felt like a genius, buying a ten dollar cup of coffee while everyone else could plainly see that he either didn't know the meaning of how much money he was really spending or he was just stupid. The blond walked back into the living room where Crow, Riku and Katsumi were waiting for him. He handed Crow his cup of coffee and sat down on one of the couches as Yusei explained his dream to him.

Katsumi tilted his head slightly; curious to what exactly was going on. He had light gray hair and green eyes, the hair making him look older than he was, given that he was merely twenty when he had been turned human. He had a lean figure and was almost as tall as Jack. The silver haired man was always quiet whenever he was out in public with Jack, never really saying a word to media that buzzed around his former master constantly. Whenever they would as who he was, Jack would answer for him, saying that he was his brother that he had been separated from during Zero Reverse. Katsumi didn't really mind being the younger brother to the World King, though… it had its perks, he would admit. He got to live in a great part of Japan and have plenty of money to support their needs… especially with Jack's ten dollar coffee addiction, they would need all the financial help they could get.

"That's it? How can you be sure that it wasn't just some random dream that you had?" Jack questioned, propping his feet up on the coffee table. Crow rolled his eyes and drank his coffee.

"Have you ever known Yusei to have just another random dream, dumbass? There's always some kind of message!" Crow defended his friend. Jack glared at him in return.

"Crow's right, Jack, have you truly ever known me to be a person to have normal dreams that mean nothing?" Yusei asked, confirming the statement he had overheard Crow say. "And you didn't answer my question before: why do you have Crow's phone?"

Jack had to think for a minute. Crow's phone… but this was his phone! He took the cell away from his ear, examined it, and narrowed his eyes. "You have the same kind of phone as me, carrot top, and the same ringtone? Why'd you leave your phone out in the first place?"

Crow shrugged. "Apparently… and don't question me, I'm tired! I leave my stuff everywhere when I have no good sense of mind," he admitted. Riku nodded with his eyes wide, approving the given statement.

"Anyway, I'm just saying Yusei: what if this is just some kinda mix up? You had a dream about Divine marrying Aki, so what? If it's just a coincidence, then you're going to look really, really stupid," the blond pointed out.

Yusei sighed in annoyance. "Jack, are you going to come to Paris, or not?"

"Of course I am, you idiot! I want to stand witness to when you make a fool of yourself at the wedding! Besides, it's not like I didn't get an invite… Aki's my friend, too, ya know? Not going to miss her wedding."

"This isn't going to be her wedding day, you can count on that," Yusei said sternly before flipping his phone shut. The scientist stared out to the huge tower before him and the surrounding scenery. It was all so beautiful, but he couldn't enjoy it with everything on his mind. Could Jack be right and his dream was just… a random dream? And was he being a control freak, not letting Aki marry someone that she, dared he say it, love? Yusei shook his head. No, Divine was a monster, a snake in human skin, there was nothing good about him and the Synchron Duelist wanted to protect Aki with all his might. There was nothing that would or could stop him from making sure that Divine is revealed before the wedding.

Behind him, the door leading into the hotel room opened, showing Takeru standing in the doorway. "Hey, Yus', you okay? What'd Jack have to say?" the teen asked, an eyebrow rose in question. Yusei glanced back toward his friend, standing up out of his chair. He pushed passed Takeru lightly and walked back into the hotel room. "Uh… are you in a bad mood today or something?"

"You could say that," Yusei said bluntly. "Jack said that he's gonna come to Paris, but I hung up before I could ask when he would be here."

"Well, that was kind of stupid of you," Takeru replied harshly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Yusei narrowed his blue eyes at the blackette before him. "Uh… I'm k-kidding!" Yusei shrugged and grabbed his black jacket. "Where are you heading off to? Oh, if you're going to the Tower, I wanna go with you! Come on, let me go, please!"

Yusei sat down on his bed and put his black and white converse on. He stood up, grabbed one of the hotel room keys and his glasses, sliding them onto his nose. "I'm just going to walk around for a bit, maybe go see Aki. Don't worry; I won't go to the tower without you. I'll be back in about an hour or two," Yusei explained as he walked out the door.

Takeru was about to say something, but the door slammed before he could utter a word. "Wow… never seen him this down before, hope he's okay," the teen muttered to himself. "Well, guess that means it's time for another nap until he gets home!"

Yusei left the hotel they were staying at and looked at the invitation he had crumbled up in his pocket and looked at the address. Hopefully it was the church that was just a few blocks away and maybe someone was even there that could tell him where she was living at. Yusei walked a couple blocks away from his hotel and found the church that the red haired woman's wedding would be at. He knocked on the doors once, curious to see if anyone would answer him. The doors opened to reveal an older man wearing a black suit and red tie. He had white hair on the sides of his head with the top of his head bald and he had a white beard growing on his face.

"_Comment puis-je vous aider?*" _the man said in French. Yusei felt his face grow red.

"Um… I'm sorry, I only speak Japanese and English," he admitted shyly.

The old man smirked. "Sorry, son, I asked: how may I help you?" he said with a smile, gesturing for Yusei to come inside to get out of the head. Yusei smiled back and thanked him as he walked inside to the beautiful church. Stain glass windows made a rainbow of colors dance around the room and the old statues brought out the old architecture and art that Paris was known for.

"I'm Yusei Fudo, a friend of Aki Izayoi… she's getting married in this church in a little less than two weeks and I was wondering if you had her address. This is my first time visiting her," the duelist informed, still gazing at the interior of the church.

"Why of course! Ms. Izayoi, soon to be Mrs. Hawthorn, is a lovely lady to work with when it comes to weddings. She's so easy going, and I know her personally as well. She's my doctor, ya see. Oh, wait right there, I can go look it up for you right now. If you'll excuse me," the old man said before walking away into the next room. Not long after he left, he returned with a sheet of paper with Aki's address written on it. "Her apartment isn't that far from here. Take a right when you leave the church, go down about five blocks, give or take, and you'll see it! Just wondering, son, but before you go, I must ask: how do you know Ms. Izayoi?"

Yusei blushed slightly. "She's my ex… and she's a very dear friend of mine. I've known her since she was eighteen and I've been with her through the worst. I just want to drop in early and say hey before she gets married."

The old man nodded. "Well, I'll be seeing you at the ceremony then, eh, Mr. Fudo?" he quizzed. Yusei hesitated, but then nodded slightly before saying thank you again and making his way towards Aki's apartment. His heart raced at the thought of seeing Aki again. But, it wasn't exactly on the best circumstances. She was getting married and they had never truly ended their relationship. The crab haired man stopped in front of her apartment building and sighed, trying to gain up the nerve to go see her. Finally, he just took the elevator up to her floor and the next thing he knew, he was knocking on her door.

Two seconds later, a woman answered the door. She had a heart shaped face, brown cat-shaped eyes and a small smile playing on her lips. She had gotten taller since the last time Yusei had seen her. She was wearing a tight black shirt and a gray skirt. Aki's smile grew huge and she threw her arms around Yusei in happiness.

"Oh, Yusei, I can't believe you're here! I'm so glad to see you after all this time!" she exclaimed with a giggle in her tone. Yusei's heart leapt out of his chest when he wrapped his arms around Aki for the first time in over a year. Her hair smelt like green apples, Yusei's favorite scent in the world. She pulled away and ushered him inside. Her expression was one of sadness now. "I was… well, I doubted that you would even want to show up, let alone come early, Yusei."

"W-why's that?" he asked nervously.

"We… never really had any closure for our relationship, so I figured you thought that I cheated on you. I just… Jeremy seems like he's known me since I was a teenager, ya know? He's a doctor and that's how I met him. He kept flirting with me, and then I just finally said yes to one of his dates, thinking that one date couldn't hurt, he seemed like a nice guy. Yusei, if this I hurt you… I'm so sorry," she apologized.

"_You don't even know the half of anything, Aki," _Yusei thought. He shrugged slightly and took Aki's hands in his. "I don't matter right now. The next two weeks are all about you and J-Jeremy. If he makes you happier than I ever could… then I want you to be with him. He could probably give you more things than I ever could, so… let things be. We're still going to be friends, no matter what," he reassured, though half of it he knew was a lie… no, he was sure all of it was a lie. Divine could never make her happy. He just wants her as a pawn in his own twisted game of chess.

"Thanks, Yusei," Aki said quietly with a smile.

"So… where's your future husband?"

"Oh, Jeremy went out for a bit. He said he's gotta go find the perfect suit. I've had my wedding dress for about four months now, so I'm all set! All I've gotta do is order the flowers, wait for the cake and the guests. You're the first of them to get here, Yusei. By the way, is Takeru with you?"

"He is… he just wanted to stay back at the hotel for a bit. Flying makes both of us tired," the man admitted with a smile. _"More like I didn't want him to come with me because I know he'd just screw things up." _"Is Akio with you? I don't see her anywhere."

Aki chuckled. "Oh, she's around. She's still fascinated by everything in Paris. She goes up to the Tower at least three times a week! I'm sure she'll be back soon. And Yusei… when was the last time you slept? You look really tired. That Fortune Momentum got you beat?" the magenta haired woman asked, sitting down on the couch. Yusei pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded. "And I like the glasses, when did you have to get those?"

It was Yusei's turn to chuckle. "Right after I started working nights on the Momentum. My eyesight as gone south after working on computers in the dark so much, but don't worry, nothing to worry about. And the last time I slept… probably about a day or two ago since I've had a good night's sleep to tell you the truth."

Aki glared playfully at Yusei. "Then you need to get some sleep! The bride commands you to go back to your hotel, get some rest, and then, I promise, we can play catch up for as long as we want. That sound like a plan?" she offered. Yusei couldn't really say no to an offer like that, so he nodded with a smile. "Alright, so I guess I'll see you later then, Yusei? Sorry, but I was just in the middle of ordering some of the roses."

Yusei put his hand up. "Not a problem at all, Aki. Sorry that I just randomly barged in. I'll see you later, have a good day," he said before walking out the door. Right when the door clicked shut, his heart broke into a thousand pieces. Aki was… happy, okay with her and Yusei not being in a relationship anymore. The man sighed and walked out of the apartment complex and down the streets of Paris. When he stopped in front of his hotel, Yusei slipped into the alley way between the two buildings and sat down, leaning up against the brick structure. He put his elbows on his knees and hands running through his hair. He knew… he knew that Divine was winning; he was breaking the former criminal down.

"So nice to see that you could make it, Mr. Fudo," a voice to Yusei's right said slyly. The next thing Yusei knew, he was being bashed in the head with something hard, making him black out on impact.

Four hours passed since Yusei had left to go see Aki and Takeru was getting worried. As he paced the room, he began to think to himself as to why Yusei would be gone this long. He could be talking up a storm with Aki. He could also be telling her about Divine. If he did, Takeru would kill him, but he could've gone to the Tower without him. But then again, Paris is a pretty big city, he could've gotten lost. Takeru was about ready to pull his hair out. "HOW TO YOU MAKE A LIVING WITH USING YOUR BRAIN, YUSEI?" He shouted as loud as he could. He hung his head in shame. "I'm such a dumbass… I can't even figure out where a nerdy professor went to in Paris."

Why he didn't know… was because Yusei was chained up in a dark room in an unfamiliar place. Though, the crab haired man hadn't come to yet after his bashing to the head, courtesy of a certain duelist who had a big bone to pick with the professor. Yusei stirred, eyes slowly fluttering open to see nothing but blackness. He remembered what happened to him, making him jump and get out of where ever the hell he was as soon as he could. He couldn't move, though. Cold, metal chains clasped around his wrists and the chain connected to the wall. He was pinned up against a stone wall? How medieval… An old rag was being used as a gag and he took note that his jacket and shirt were missing. Yusei thrashed around, confused, scared and partly pissed.

"Glad to see you're awake, Mr. Fudo," the man who had done this to him crackled. Yusei's eyes darted around the pitch black room, still not able to see anything. "Here, maybe this will help." Someone snapped their fingers and three bright candles around the room were lit. A brown haired man with blue eyes stepped into view with a sinister smirk on his face. Yusei shuttered, he knew who that was. It was Jeremy… Divine.

Yusei glared at him as Divine slowly, but surely made his way over to where Yusei was pinned. The brown haired man undid the cloth gagging Yusei's mouth and tossed it to the floor, making Yusei cough and gag, thankful to have that disgusting rag out of his mouth.

"D-Divine, you sick t-twisted bastard!" Yusei shouted. "What are you doing? Why do you have me chained?"

Divine chuckled. "So, you knew it was me? Then you did have that dream, didn't you? Fine, then I guess I don't have to hide and waist energy around you," the man said as he snapped his fingers. His brown hair darkened into red and it flipped up in front of his left eye, hiding the burns on that side as well. He was wearing a green suit and had white gloves on. "Good to know I'm still missed. As for why you're chained, Mr. Fudo… you need to suffer for what you did to me, what you took away from me!"

"W-what… what did I ever do to you other than give you what you deserved?" Yusei spat, blue eyes void of any compassion they once had, that compassion replaced with hate and anger. Divine held up a small remote with only one button on it: a red button. Yusei knew from both personal experience and from watching movies with Crow that a red button was never EVER a good thing. The former Arcadia leader pressed the button and an electrical shock was sent through Yusei's body, making him scream in pain while Divine merely laughed at his enemy's anguished cries. He pressed the button again and the surges stopped.

"That's what happens when you speak, Yusei. There's just a taste of what you'll have in store for you in the next few weeks. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go pick out a suit for my wedding in a week and a half," Divine snickered, snapping his fingers again and appearing to be the man known as Jeremy Hawthorn again.

"You stay a-away from Aki!" Yusei threatened. Divine/Jeremy pressed the button again, sending even more powerful electrical shocks through Yusei's body, causing him to cry out harder and louder. Right as he left the room, the now brown haired man pressed the button one more time before slamming a door and leaving. Yusei was sweating, panting and wishing that he was anywhere but here. He had to warn the others, he had to get to Aki, he had to contact Takeru! But he was chained down, unable to escape the clutches of his ex-girlfriend's future husband. That was it, Yusei had admitted defeat. Divine had won. He had Aki; he had everything he could ask for as a returning villain. He even had his nemesis chained up in a random room, all alone. The only thing Yusei had in his pocket was his cell phone, which he couldn't even reach.

He had no hope. Yusei Fudo had no hope of getting out of Paris, France alive.

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><p><strong>Yusei<strong> and **Takeru**: *staring at the screen in disbelief, then they turn to me with a WTF expression on their faces*  
><strong>Chibi<strong>: Oh, I'm so evil and I love it!  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: I hate you… so freaking much! How do you even plan on getting me out of this one! You've gotten me out of some pretty jacked up shit, now get me out of this one, too!  
><strong>Chibi<strong>: *shrug* I'm not sure if I want to or not... I'm not even sure how I would be able to. O.O  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: I'll kill you!  
>Takeru: *grabs Yusei by the shoulders and holds him back* I suggest running before he goes rabid!<br>**Chibi**: Noted… bye guys! Reviews + Being nice = a very happy Chibi Duelist  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: AND I WANT OUT OF THIS FREAKING CELL! The more you guys review, the quicker I'll get out of this stupid cell! Help a dude out!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chibi**: I'm sorry for the delay guys! D: I have a reason this time, too, and it's not laziness! I fractured my nose, so I've had to deal with that for a while, my exams are coming up soon, it's hard trying to come up with a way to get Yusei out of Divine's cell room of hell, and I've been trying to revive a long lost story of mine.  
><strong>Takeru<strong>: *trying not to laugh* you ran into a bookshelf at an anime convention.  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: You two are helpless, you know that? *still chained up*  
><strong>Chibi<strong>: Oh… uh… yeah, Yusei, I have a bad feeling that you wanna kill me, don't you?  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: What makes you say that? *trying to reach a gun from the corner of the room* just a little more… then she's dead!  
><strong>Chibi<strong>: o.O … I also have a bad feeling that I'm gonna die, too. Well, while I'm dealing with this mess, you guys can read this chapter!

* * *

><p>~*four days after Divine captured Yusei*~<p>

The Fudo sat on the cement ground, free of his chains. Divine had some kind of heart deep down, he had figured out when the man had released Yusei from his restraints, but he had yet to get anything to eat or drink besides a couple glasses of water here and there. The scientists once blue eyes full of life had grown dull and empty. He had already pulled out his cell phone to try to call Taka, but Divine had taken the battery and SIM card out of it when he had been knocked out. Yusei hasn't seen any form of light in over forty-eight hours, and it was starting to drive him insane. He lifts his head up slightly, gazing up at the black ceiling as if to ask, "Why did this have to happen to me?"

Back on the surface, Jack, Crow, Katsumi, and Riku were all getting out of a cab near Yusei and Takeru's hotel. Crow stretched and yawned, the plane ride over to France had really worn out the carrot top. Jack smacked his friend in the back of the head, thinking to himself that this was probably going to be the longest three days of his life. First, he would have to put up with Crow and Riku for the first time in over three years in the hotel, then they'd have to hang out at the wedding the second day, and then it was the plane ride home that would most likely be his murderer.

"Have you tried to call Yusei again?" Katsumi asked, his arms folded and an annoyed look crossed on his face.

Crow rubbed the back of his sore head and nodded. "He just won't pick up! I've been trying to call him for over two days and I've got nothing. It's starting to freak me out a little bit, personally," the Blackwing duelist said shyly.

Jack then proceeded to hit Crow yet again. "Don't be ridiculous, nothing bad has happened to Yusei, you understand me? Maybe France doesn't have good phone service!"

"My phone's fine!"

"Yeah, mine's working fine, too!"

"You two are not helping!" Jack scolded Riku and Katsumi. The two former Yamis jumped at the sudden chance in the Atlas's voice and put their cell phones back in their pockets. Jack grabbed his bags and walked into the hotel. Crow grabbed his as well, rolling his eyes and following close behind. The ginger glanced around at his surroundings, and when he looked down an alleyway, he caught something moving out of the corner of his eye. As they say, curiosity killed the cat; well… in this case, it killed the Crow. Dropping his bags, he ran over to see just what it was. Something was moving under some kind of jacket, so he picked it up, revealing a small cat. It was a tabby cat from what Crow could tell and it had big gray eyes, just like his.

With a huge smile on his face, Crow picked up the small animal. "Hey, guys, come over here! It's a kitty!" he said with a humorous tone in his voice. The cat merely tilted its head in confusion. Riku was the first to respond, running over to where Crow was. "Isn't he cute? Wait… is it a he?" Crow examined the cat. "Yup… he's a guy."

Riku chuckled. "Yeah, he is kind of cute," he cooed.

Jack ran down the alleyway, bags still in hand. "What are you two doing? Come on, we've gotta check in now! Hey… where'd you find the cat?" he asked, a puzzled look plastered on his face.

"I found him under this jacket!" Crow announced, picking up said jacket. He took another look at the piece of clothing and raised a concerned eyebrow. "Hey, this looks like the jacket Yusei was wearing when he came to visit me! That's weird… it even has a Japanese tag on the back of it."

Jack dropped his bags, ran over to his ginger friend and snatched the jacket out of his hands. "Let me see that!" he shouted, reading the Japanese tag on the back. "This is Yusei's, no doubt… but why would it be in the alleyway by his hotel?" Everyone was silent, confused and growing a bit concerned, even Jack was. "Come on, we better get checked in and see if Yusei and Takeru are in their rooms. Bring the jacket with you, Crow… just not the cat."

Crow pouted. "Why can't I bring the cat, too? It's all alone and junk!" he defended the feline. The tabby cat's eyes seemed to grow larger in size, as if to beg the blond to let the ginger keep him.

The former king wanted to punch someone in the face, but he sighed and gave in. "Fine, on one condition! You leave it here until we find Yusei. If he runs off by then, you can't keep it, and if he's still here, take him back to Japan with you, okay?"

The Blackwing duelist pouted a little and set the cat down and grabbed his bags. "You stay here, Crow Jr., if you want to come home with me, you understand?" he ordered the animal. The cat blinked and bounced its head around as if it were following a light. Crow smiled and ran out of the alleyway, into the hotel. Katsumi and Riku shrugged, following the other man. Jack stared at the cat with an expression on his face that said, "Did you seriously just understand what that nimrod was saying?" The feline sat on the ground, looking right back at the blonde with a gaze just as intense as his.

"It's just a cat, Jack… the King doesn't get his mind screwed by a freaking feline," he muttered to himself. The World King picked his luggage up and chased after his friends. Crow had already checked in with the front desk and was getting a couple of room keys for them. They had booked two rooms; both of them having two beds in them, and the two rooms were located just down the hall from Yusei and Takeru's room. A bellhop ran over with a smile, said something that seemed like a polite greeting in French, and took their bags onto a cart. Riku began begging Crow to let him ride on one before they left, but Crow only face-palmed before taking the stairs to get to their suites. Katsumi mumbled something under his breath that involved something along the lines of why he was best friends with the idiot before running after the ginger and the other former Yami. Jack looked around, taking in the beauty of the hotel that they would be staying in for the next three days. He could've sworn that he could've fallen up the stairs if he stared too intently at his surroundings.

The four companions found their bellhop waiting for them at their room. He tipped his hat, opened the door with his master key and let them in. Katsumi, the only one of them who was smart enough to take up basic French on the flight in, thanked the man in French, handing him a tip. The worker smiled again before walking back to the lobby, leaving the four Japanese men to take care of their belongings.

"Hey, can you guys unpack my things for me? I'm gonna go check Takeru and Yusei's room for Mr. Heartbroken," Crow said, a hand on his hip. The other three nodded and the ginger ran down the hall, looking at room numbers until he came across the right one. He knocked once, and the door was thrown open by whoever was inside, pulling Crow into the room.

"Yusei, where have you been?" a voice shouted. Crow was just about to have a heart attack and yell for help when he saw that it was only Takeru. "Dammit, you're not Yusei! Wait… holy crap, Crow! Have you heard anything from Yusei?"

"Uh… no, when was the last time you heard from him?" Crow asked in return, growing slightly more worried than before. "We found his jacket in the alleyway next to the hotel and thought you guys dropped it out of your luggage or something. We just got here and we've got the jacket in the room if you wanna see it, sport."

Takeru ran his hands through his hair and groaned in frustration. "I haven't heard from Mr. Lovebird in over four days! The last time I saw him: he was heading over to Aki's and he never came back or called! He's too smart not to call back, right? Am I panicking for a good reason? Please tell him I'm not going crazy!" the teenager screamed. Crow then proceeded to slap Takeru to calm him down. "Ow… what was that for?"

"You said that it's been four days since you've heard or seen him? Why haven't you gone to Aki's to check to see if he's there?" Crow questioned, trying to hide how much he was worried and scared.

"I have no idea where she lives," was the blackette's simple answer.

"That's it, you're officially an idiot! It's right here on the invitation!" the ginger pointed out, taking the piece of paper out of his pocket and shoving it in Takeru's face.

"Well, I'm sorry; Yusei took it with him when he left so he could find her place!" shouted the other man, shoving the invite out of his face and kicking Crow in the shin. The pro duelist yelped and jumped up and down on one foot, holding his now throbbing leg in his hands. Glaring, Crow punched Takeru in the face, sending him falling to the floor with a large red mark forming on his face.

Jack, who was unpacking, heard the commotion outside and raised a curious eyebrow. "What the hell is going on over there?" he muffled, strutting out of the hotel room to see what was going on. He peeked inside the room to find Takeru on top of Crow, pulling his hair, and Crow was pulling the former Yamis ear. "Stop it, both of you! You're acting like children!"

"I am a child, thank you very much!" Taka defended, punching Crow in the face.

"Ow, dammit, you're older than all of us put together, you moron! Get the hell off me so we can go look for Yusei!" Crow demanded, becoming very pissed, very quickly. Jack sighed and intervened with the small brawl before him, pulling the two of them apart. "Jack, Yusei's been missing for four days! We've gotta look for him, like, now!"

"Four days?" Jack said, stunned. How could Yusei be missing for that long? This was Yusei they were talking about, right? The same kid they grew up with that could navigate his way through the whole island of Satellite and not get lost when they were only five? Jack set his two friends down and crossed his arms over his chest, thinking about where his rival could've gone. Maybe he went back home to Neo Domino because he couldn't handle the thought of Aki marrying someone else, Divine no less.

Riku and Katsumi popped their heads into the door frame, curiosity getting the better of them, just like it had done Jack. "Is one of them dead?" Riku asked a blank look on his face.

"No… no, they're not dead, you idiot."

Riku rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone, texting as fast as he could. "I've gotta tell Ruka and Rua so they can get here faster. They were planning on coming in tomorrow just in time for the wedding since they both have college exams this week. I say screw the final, Yusei's missing!"

Jack smashed his fist into the palm of his other hand. "That's it; we're going over to Aki's to see just where the hell he is! Maybe he stayed over at her place and lost his phone! Come on, we're leaving NOW!" Jack then proceeded to stomp out of the room and down the stairs back to the main lobby. Scared that they would be mercilessly maimed if they didn't follow him, the four other men chased after the world king.

The five visitors followed the directions to the church and the same man that gave Yusei directions to Aki's place gave them the same route. They traveled to the apartment complex and walked up to Aki's room, knocking on her door.

Not long after they had, the red head girl opened the door. "Guys, you're here! I'm so glad you could make it!" the girl threw her arms around Jack and Crow, but Takeru gently tore her off of them. A confused look crossed the former Signer's face. "What's the matter?"

"Have you seen Yusei? No one has heard or seen from him in four days," Jack said bluntly. Aki raised an eyebrow in confusion and quickly let them in. "Did he come by recently?"

She nodded. "He came by four days ago, and I haven't heard from him since then. He came by to say hi and wish me luck with everything and—," she began. Aki was cut off by the sound of the door opening and closing again. They all looked back and saw a brown haired man in a gray suit and hat with a red tie. "Oh, Jeremy, you're back! These are my friends, Jack and Crow. Katsumi, Riku and Takeru are Aiko's friends."

Takeru's ears and eyes perked up. "Where's Aiko, by the way?"

"She's in her room getting ready to go out to dinner—," she was cut off again by Takeru running into the bedroom with the door closed. It seemed like Aki was getting cut off a lot lately. "Well then… anyway, these are my friends from Japan. You haven't met Yusei yet, though. Jack and Crow just told me that… h-he hasn't been seen in over four days."

Jack and Crow wanted to punch "Jeremy" in the face so bad, but they couldn't. They didn't have good enough evidence to show Aki that her fiancé was actually the former leader of Arcadia in disguise. The room went tense was Divine smirked as he took something off the kitchen table and glanced at the new arrivals. Jack had to remind himself not to beat the living shit out of the person in front of him, as did Crow and the former Yamis behind them.

Divine/Jeremy faked surprise and put on a concerned face. "Four days? That's a while… do you think he… went missing? Or do you think he just went home after he said hello? It's possible he did, I mean, you ARE his ex, after all. Maybe he just didn't want you getting married to me," he said with a shrug. Jack's right eye twitched in irritation.

Aki's face went red from guilt and embarrassment. "M-maybe…" she muttered, nervously rubbing her forearm. "A-anyway, what are you doing home, baby? Weren't you going to meet Aiko and me at the restaurant after you got off from work?"

The man nodded. "I am I just left my portfolio here on accident and I needed to come get if before the meeting started," he explained. He walked over and kissed Aki on the cheek, then glanced at the former Team 5D's members. "I'll get to know you four later, if that's okay."

"That sounds grand," Crow said with a fake smile. With that, Divine left with a tip of his hat, shutting the door behind him.

Aki let out a sigh. "It's hard to believe that I'm getting married tomorrow, ya know?" she mumbled like a school girl falling in love with the most popular guy in class.

A light bulb suddenly appeared over Jack's head. "Oh, I um… forgot my wallet at the hotel and we were uh… gonna go shopping for some souvenirs after we came to visit you, Aki! I'm gonna go ahead and go back and get it if that's okay."

"What are you talking about? we…" Riku began before Jack sent him a cold glare. He suddenly got the message. "Oh yeah, I remember now! Y-yeah, we were gonna go shopping! Right…"

Aki's eyes lit up. "Oh, well, okay! Please, if you find Yusei, tell him that I was worried sick about him! I'll keep a close eye out for him while I'm out as well," she said with a smile. Jack nodded, gave her a hug and left, Katsumi and Riku following suit. Crow on the other hand, stood in the door frame with a regretful expression on his face. "Crow…?"

"If you're so worried about him and you still care about him, then why'd you leave him?" he quizzed with a glare that would make even Jack shiver in fear. Aki's expression changed from normal to shocked and hurt in an instant. Crow didn't look back at her and shut the door behind him, dashing down the hallway to catch up with Jack and the others. Before he made it down to the second floor, the ginger's arm was grabbed and pulled behind a wall. He almost screamed, but a hand was over his mouth, the hand belonging to a certain blond. Jack put his finger to his lips and pointed to their number one suspect in their friend's disappearance.

Divine/Jeremy was glancing around at his surroundings to make sure he was completely alone. Though, he was completely oblivious to Jack, Crow, Riku, and Katsumi right beyond the corner. The man put his hand on the wall, running his hands along the drywall. Soon, he stopped and found a small slit in the wall, like where an elevator used to be. Divine snapped his fingers, making the worn and old elevator open up. The former members of Team 5D's gazed in awe at how much better of a psychic he is now compared to what he was in the past. With another snap of his fingers, the doors closed and it was as if nothing had even happened.

"… What the hell was that?" Riku spoke up in disbelief.

"That… is probably where our friend is being held captive. We'll have to stake out here until he comes back up," Jack answered.

"He used his magic, psychic power things that we don't have to reopen the ancient elevator of doom, though! How are we supposed to get it open when he comes back, genius?" Riku shot back, anger rising in his tone.

The blond king narrowed his eyes. "We'll figure something out, trust me," he said calmly.

For the next twenty minutes, the four friends waited, and waited for Divine to reemerge from the pits of where ever the hell he had gone to. Katsumi and Riku had fallen asleep leaning up against the hallway wall while Jack and Crow kept a keen eye locked on where the elevator door was. Right when Crow was about to nod off, the door reopened, revealing Divine as he stepped out of the room. He fixed his tie and took off his white glove, which was stained red with blood, and shoved it in his pocket with a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. Whose blood it was, Jack and the others really hoped that they were incorrect when they thought of whom it could belong to. Divine quickly made his way down the hallway and down the stairs to the bottom level.

As quick as he could, before the doors closed, Crow ran over and stuck his foot between the sealing gates. "Hey, Katsumi, Riku, wake up! We're in!" he whispered. Jack shoved Katsumi in the shoulder to wake him up as the blond himself ran into the elevator. The two former Yamis sprung awake and sprinted into the elevator with Jack and Crow. They got to the bottom floor and found a whole floor of cells and no light other than candles flickering down the hall lit the whole area. What kind of apartment complex was this back in the day? Cells and whatnot; it could've been a torture house or a prison for all they knew.

Jack ran down the halls of cells and looked in each and every one of them. "Yusei, Yusei, it's me Jack! You down here, man?" he called at the top of his lungs. All they got was silence… at first.

"J-Jack," someone said in a wispy voice, drawing everyone's attention to one of the last cells on the floor. Katsumi was the first one to find who the voice belonged to and the silver haired teen nearly had a heart attack. Yusei was shirtless, lying on the stone floor, bloody and he looked as if he was starving, which he probably was... he looked as though he was on the verge of death. Crow, Jack, and Riku all ran up to the same cell, having the same reaction as well. Jack quickly grabbed the keys that were dangling from the wall, unlocking the lock on the chamber and running inside to see if his rival was alright. "I can't… what day…"

Crow put Yusei's numb arm around his shoulder and Jack did the same with the other. "Just don't talk right now, bud, we've gotcha. You don't have to worry about a thing. You've probably gone through Hell the past four days, so you just take it easy," the Blackwing duelist commanded.

"It's been four… days?" the prisoner spat in horror. "That means… the wedding is t-tomorrow. I've gotta stop him!" Jack took this opportunity to smack Yusei in the back of the head to shut him up, which in turn, knocked him out from how weak the Junk duelist was in his condition. Crow gave him the, "What the hell did you just do? Did you seriously just do what I think you just did?" look as they dragged their friend out of the prison ward.

"Well, he would've just kept freaking out if I hadn't of done it, so you should be thanking me, Hogan," the Atlas pointed out. Crow rolled his eyes in response. "Come on, we've gotta get Yusei to a hospital, now."

* * *

><p><strong>Chibi<strong>: *dead from typing the whole second half of this chapter in less than an hour*  
><strong>Takeru<strong>: Well, at least we found you, eh, Yusei?  
><strong>Yusei<strong>: *still knocked out from Jack's Atlas Punch of Doom*  
><strong>Takeru<strong>: … well damn, I'm all alone in this studio. Well, I'm pretty sure Chibi was gonna say that she was sorry for the delay. She's been working on her original story a lot lately and she hasn't been paying much attention to this story. Her, 'Twin Gravestones,' novel is really taking a lot out of her so… I think I'll join them in the land of the sleeping. G'night, readers, and also, one more thing: reviewing + being nice + Rock Band marathons at birthday parties until three in the morning = a happy and very tired Chibi Duelist.


End file.
